by Sonya Verma, Hive Yoga Facilitator
Sonya Verma is a gifted yoga facilitator here at the Hive. As part of our Spring theme, Into the Unknown, she’s gifted us with some of the wisdom she’s gleaned from her experience facing the unknown.
The rhythms of life are all around us. Some have become familiar to us, like the changing of the seasons, and the waxing and waning of the moon. Some rhythms are personal, such as coming of age, becoming a parent, or taking on new roles in our lives. Some rhythms only occur once every generation, or even as long as an epoch. When rhythms fall out of memory, they appear to us as the unknown.
The unknown is similar to writer's block. It is like having words on the tip of one's tongue and not finding them. Our initial impulse is to think, intellectualize and struggle to be perfect or be right in a disagreement.
There is another way. The way of the unknown. Taking a dive into the unknown allows us to get out of our own way. Not knowing allows space for something new to arise. Knowing is a rut we get into that stifles creativity and imagination.
What better time to go into unknowing than in this season of Spring? Spring signifies rebirth, renewal, and hope. When I go outdoors, I’m captivated by the fragrance, colors and beauty of nature. I wonder how all of this came to be, and revel in the mystery.
Contrasted to the hope of Spring is the uncertainty we live with in the world today. Not knowing the road ahead can be unsettling. We must trust there is medicine available to us in these unknown times. On a personal level, the darkest days of my past have shown me strength and capabilities I didn’t know I had. When we are ready to open our eyes to the hidden resources we posses, we can start to change the course we are on.
What I feel at a personal and global level is an awakening to how we are truly meant to live. We must put down our swords, unveil our masks, and step into our sovereign birthright and power. We cannot wait any longer to awaken to our spiritual purpose. To call for unity, community and healing. It feels that we are all evolving and birthing a new way of being. This is the time that we need ways to ground ourselves, have disciplines and community that we can lean on.
For me these disciplines are centered around my Ayurvedic practice of creating boundaries around time and information. We are inundated with so much information these days and everything that is taken into the senses has to be digested and integrated just like food. If not, it creates all kinds of constipation on many levels. When I create boundaries on what I’m consuming from food to information, it allows for integration, assimilation and easy digestion. Simple everyday routines keep me grounded and present, which allows me to extend myself more to the world around me. The consistency of having a routine based on the seasons and rituals of time allow me to hone in my energy so that I have space for creativity and vitality. We can’t give from an empty cup.
My spiritual meditation practice that I do every morning and night helps me connect and surrender to something larger than myself and allows me to grow into my potential. Spiritual practice will be different for each of us; what’s important is having a system that allows you to surrender and welcome in mystery.
Finally, I make sure to honor the practice of gratitude. During this time, like many others, I have felt isolated and alone. The more I’ve been able to see the good in my life and in others, the more my perspective of the world around me has changed. Gratitude also transforms the small point of view of ‘me’ into a larger one that includes the world around me.
A practice of gratitude has also naturally led me to extend myself in service to my family and community. When faced with the unknown, leaning into our connection with those around us becomes crucial. We need one another.
You may know the old Indian story where a group of blind men come across an elephant for the first time. And as each person touches a different part of the elephant, they each start to share a part of what they felt. One felt the tusk, the other the ear, the trunk, and the foot. Each of them gets excited and starts to share what they felt with their limited perspectives. After each one hears what the other offers they start to question each other. How could each of them sense something different when they were all touching the same thing? Some people in the group question if the others are being dishonest or even messing with them. In this way, in our own experiences we have a tendency to believe we have the absolute truth in our limited subjective experience and judge others based on their limited subjective experiences which could have helped us see a bigger picture.
There is so much more that we can do when we are open to listening to one another in the space of curiosity and collectively working together to find solutions.
May this be our path forward as we continue to walk into the unknown.