I read this article somewhere and I felt like sharing it with all of you. Do leave a comment if it makes sense to you or brings some perspective.
These two practices have come up for me recently, and I find them to be very useful and potent…
1. “What am I feeding?”
Before eating anything I like to clarify what exactly I am feeding:
Am I feeding my pride, my distraction, my cravings, my blind habits?
Or am I feeding inner silence, contentment, gratitude, joyfulness, creativity and infinite wisdom?
The simple act of asking what I am feeding is a way to unambiguously instruct the deeper intelligence of life what this fresh energy is intended to nourish, strengthen and enhance.
At a subtle level, this also applies to seeing, hearing and all the other sense doors. Because we actually “eat” from all sensory experiences. This is why it is often said that we need to be mindful of what we see, hear, and also say. For it can reinforce our beliefs, attitudes, and worldviews.
What we feed grows stronger!
2. “May this lead to…”
This is a fascinating practice which involves dedicating any activity to a chosen outcome. For instance: bathing, shopping, replying to emails, meditating, resolving an argument with a loved one, reading, watching TV, cleaning the bathroom, getting a haircut – before, during or after doing literally ANYTHING – to intend, “May this lead to…”
and fill in the blank!
I say: “May this lead to full and complete awakening without residue / to God”.
Other versions: “May this lead to inner strength / to doing what I really love / infinite abundance / the happiness of all beings / etc.”
What I love about this practice is that it does not distinguish between wholesome and unwholesome activities, so-called spiritual or unspiritual activities, so-called good and bad habits – EVERYTHING becomes the fuel and engine for the actualization of our most important intentions.
Both these practices should be done several times each day and are designed to lead us from being overwhelmed victims of our circumstances to being conscious creators to being channels of radiant blessings to simply BEING and eventually even take us beyond being and non-being.
I hope I have been able to explain these practices clearly enough. May they feed what is most beautiful and Divine in each of us. May they lead to comprehensive unburdening.
With love,
Nithya Shanti