Newsletter: Let's Shine Brighter
Let’s shine brighter together!
Sitting down to write the last newsletter of the year has been a challenge. I have wanted and needed more time for reflection and inward pauses. Living in London where there is less light and more chill, leaves me yearning for what is familiar and known. It has also been an opportunity to commune with my own darkness that is birthing something new. This has been my birthday week, the holidays are here, and it is a time that can bring joy, but also tears. This year has been rich in growth and I have been reflecting on what has deeply transformed.
About 10 years ago I asked the universe to teach me about judgement. I felt it was so deeply ingrained in my thinking and it was blocking my growth and ability to love. It has been a decade of major losses, heartbreak, upsets, pain, and also rebirth, joy, love, and revelations. I have learned to be thoughtful of what I ask for, because it will come with some swift lessons and a kick in the ass :) That’s the beauty of it, the process breaks down walls that were started by others and often held firm by us. It takes courage to dismantle what is familiar, clean out the old systems rooted in fear, and rebuild from truth. The word that I keep hearing in my own work and with others is Awakening. If you have been on a spiritual path for a while, this is not big news, yet it feels like there is a new challenge in how we are practicing this awakening in all of our relationships. It is an exciting and also confronting time to be alive. There is a collective birthing of something new, a shift from division and competition, to one of inclusivity and connection.
As the year comes to a close, consider what has been shifting and awakening within you. How does this allow for a deeper connection to your truth? What limiting beliefs do you hold that have been preventing you from believing in yourself? The “self-beat” are the words, thoughts, and opinions we harbor about ourselves that are destructive and can stop us dead in our tracks of change because they trigger shame and guilt. In order to quiet these voices, we’ll often avoid dealing with the truth, over-attaching to pleasure, and indulging in shadow comforts that eventually stimulate more self-beat. This is a cycle I have worked hard to break free from, yet it still happens when I am about to embark on a new pathway. It is a fear voice that needs loving and owning so it doesn’t keep trash-talking me into a spin.
I was taught how to break the trance by my teacher, Mona Miller. I learned how to rinse my fears (developing a constructive, non-editing way to release them), process the truth (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and to own what it is teaching me. When we can do these things, we awaken to the truth and move forward in our power. Then we learn to do it again and again whenever life overwhelms us. It is a practice to stay in our own lane so our power is not diminished and we can support the discovery of new pathways. Transformation and awakenings are not a linear path and we can have many in a lifetime. This gift of growing older is that we have more opportunities to learn. My mistakes and failures are not bad or wrong, they have been the very place I have fallen to my knees and broken the trance of fear. It is a dance of love and truth, and when we learn to trust it, the music never ends and the small self awakens us to the heartbeat of our truest Self.
I want to close by sharing the book of a profound yoga teacher and cherished friend, Seane Corn. Revolution of the Soul is raw, real, and so beautiful. It touches on so many profound lessons and how yoga happens off the mat and in every facet of our lives when we open our minds and hearts to change. The inner work creates courage for the outer revolution that we are all a part of. Seane talks about her work with Mona who was also my most influential teacher from age 27 until now. Chapter 8 says so much truth about Mona and shares the deep wisdom she instilled in so many of us. If you have done coaching work with me or taken my yoga classes, her light is thread throughout my work and teaching. I was awakened a long time ago to my shadow and the dance forward never ends. I am learning to be a more loving and honest partner. In the season of light and giving, May we ring in 2020 awakened with courage to boldly go into new places and co-create a world that is lit with inclusivity, understanding, and kindness. We all shine brighter together.
Much Love,
Mia