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What Anchors You? By Terra Lea
To keep a boat steady, rooted and calm, an anchor is needed. If you are feeling anxious, unsettled or tired, where are your anchors for peace?
In this new month of May, we are called to look around, turn our eyes to beauty blooming and growing all around us. Glorious nature is the rooting, grounding (pun intended) force to anchor our awareness out of the busy mind and into our senses, to what is real; the present moment.
In a conversation with a dear friend, we talked of the struggle of trying to be present and grateful in times such as these. Every moment we are called to choose; each breath is a seed of choice, and the choice becomes more and more profound, as the world swirls in uncertainty, asking; How will I be in this troubled world?
Making the choice to be more rooted in awareness which invites the unfolding of appreciation and awareness of blessings in each moment requires more than just a turn of my head; I need an anchoring that feels sure, dependable, safe.
I may want to hide, to curl up and sleep away my life but the call is not to escape, but to weave—to let the light from the unseen realms lace through the ordinary acts of care and presence. And that is the hardest, holiest work.
And yes, I speak of holy. We are woven; equally spiritual, physical, mental and emotional beings. If this is true, then claiming, practicing, and deepening our spiritual practices enhances all the parts of us, the most powerful anchor.
If, like me, you chose another path than the religion of your youth, or you have a profound and living relationship with your spiritual practices now, in difficult times, it can be more of a challenge for all of us to navigate deepening a connection to the etheric world, to find an anchoring in the invisible.
There are many mindful awareness practices to help us anchor our attention to the present moment, out of the anxious thought, judgement, or beliefs that sometimes binds us.
A simple pause before we rise, an invitation to our heart souls; May I offer this day the blessing of my loving awareness. At midday, maybe choose a natural pause in your day (while making tea, feeding pets, folding laundry).
Gently say to yourself, This moment is the altar. I offer my presence. Notice texture, scent, sound—letting the sacred thread weave into the ordinary.
At day’s end, write or speak aloud, What felt like an altar—what lifted me toward the sky?
Then simply breathe, witnessing without needing to fix.
Ask, What felt like an anchor today—what held me to the earth?
Taking a few moments in each day to reflect and listen deeply seems out of our natural way, and in our Western culture where we maybe don’t have honored rituals, altars and sacred cultural practices handed down from ancestors, it won’t feel ‘natural’.
But the more we practice, the more comfortable it feels, and quickly, the inner voice grows more easeful, peaceful and content; our deepest ancestral threads feel woven, and it becomes easier and easier to welcome the sacred into every day.
First Sunday of each month, a gift for you!
Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice of simple breath and focused awareness, a science backed practice of shifting the mind’s frequency to the healing theta waves of deep sleep, while staying conscious. This deep practice has the benefit of a full night’s sleep!
Click the link to join us Sunday, May 4th, 7PM PST. Every first Sunday.
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