Third year reflections

Thursday marked the three year anniversary of my Osun Initiation (7/12/09). This continual process has taught me so much about my spiritual and physical self. I am so far removed from the woman I once was, yet still miles away from the Goddess I'm striving to manifest inwardly and outwardly. These few years have been challenging, yet extremely rewarding.

The biggest lesson learned thus far?

Don't get comfortable living in old destructive behavior patterns.

Osun is often referred to as a "cool" or "sweet" Orisa. This is true in terms of how she approaches and deals with her children. However, like any mother, when she's fed up with her children's hardheadedness she can become extremely heated. It's often said that Osun is the one Orisa you DO NOT want to anger! So, if there are some character, behavioral and/or personal issues that you've been neglecting to address, Yeye will put the mirror in your face and force you to do the needed introspective work in order to move forward with your destiny. Osun is about uprightness, powerful divine womanhood, and moralistic behavior. When you are not honoring these principles, your not walking in her light.

Being able to do the introspective work needed for self-development is not simple. It's a life long process. The the Holy Odu Eji Ogbe, says "bit by bit, we eat the head of the rat," meaning tackle each issue, each problem one at a time. However, if spirit tells you to fix something, don't ignore the request. The consequence for such an error can be grave and result in life altering changes.

As I embark on this next year, I'm striving to do better, be better and live better. Honoring and uplifting Osun in every step. This blog was created to highlight some of my creative works, focusing on sewing. Not just sewing of clothing, but sewing good health, sewing good spiritual practices, sewing good relationships, sewing good self-image, etc. Continue to follow me in through this journey.

I've been really bad at posting. I'm going to do better... for real this time!!!   

Love,
OmiD

...:::alignment:::....

Things change, energies shift.We have plans, ideas as to how our life should go. Then the Creator steps in and destiny occurs: sometimes good, sometimes bad. But destiny nevertheless. All you can do is be present in it.With finishing up my PhD studies, the death of my beloveded cat, and various other personal concerns, I was been pretty consumed with self-pity and sadness. And the gloomy weather didn't help much either. I'd spent weeks engulfed in my blankets, finding security in the dark solitude of my bed. Not thinking, not really sleeping, just there.Yeah, was that kind of time.

Today I've decided enough was enough. I had fully acknowledged and wallowed in my circumstances and it was time to heal and move on. As a person who has had person struggles with Affective disorders, I knew I had to do something about my mental state fast or I would get stuck and become totally non-functional. So I pulled out my yoga mat.Took a deep breath and exhale into downward facing dog, flowed through several sets of sun salutations and got grounded with some balancing poses. I finished the session with a quick meditation (10 mins) and 3 chants of "ohm shanti shanti shanti." I felt better.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Mantra


Afterwards I energized my body with some fresh juice. A mix of cucumbers, asian pears, spinach, etc. I call it my Goddess blend. Then flushed with some alkaline water.

I try to live my life in a wholistic manner, recognizing that the mind, body and spirit are connected. Therefore, if an area is out of balance (the mind and spirit in this case) I correct this by doing something that will recharge this energy. Now I'm not saying go run a marathon. But do something to gently recharge the energy. Yoga and consuming live (raw) foods does this for me. It takes me to a place where I'm present and aware of my physical, mental and spiritual body. It grounds and recharges me. I especially like meditating directly following a yoga session. I'm way more centered and am able to maintain my posture for larger periods without discomfort.This practice really helps me manage depression and anxiety. Needless to say, the "dark cloud" really impeded my productivity and I've not been posting (bad blogger). I'ma do better. I promise.

Balance in all things

Achieving balance is probably one of the most challenging things to accomplish. Yet it's benefits supersedes giving into the fear of not trying. In today's modern world we are constantly overrun with never ending to-do list and rely heavily on multitasking to get the jobs done. Many of us feed on this excitement and often times put ourselves in these situations. Eventually you'll end up burned out physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually and your body will force you to take that much needed time out. Your body will compensate for all those periods of extreme activity by forcing you to be still. However, this period of stillness maybe a physical illness or some other stress related illness such as an affected disorder. This lifestyle can be very detrimental to your health. Therefore, balance is required in everything you do. 

I'm consistently struggling with this and am seeking help through a daily meditation practice and yoga. Finding time for these self healing techniques takes some dedication but I owe it to myself and to my loved ones. To achieve this, I've created a special meditation area in front of my shrines. It consists of a few comfy throw pillows, some candles, incenses, and my journal to note anything that may come to mind. I usually meditate to music. I have a nice collection of new agey chakra balancing and singing bowl tunes that I downloaded from itunes. To begin, I take a few cleansing breathes then just be for about 10 minutes. Nothing fancy. 

For my yoga practice, I currently go to two different studios. I'm a hot yoga fanatic, so I generally do Bikiram or some other variation. But I find it lacks the spiritual aspect of the yogic tradition that I love. So sometime I attend classes at Kashi here in Atlanta. The classes offered there are very holistic in that they provide a good balance between physical and spiritual fitness. In general yoga classes can be pricey and as a graduate student, I live on a tight budget. So both studios offer free or $5 classes multiple times per week. Yoga on a budget. I loves it!  

I'm still growing in my practices, so any tips you guys can offer would be great! Namaste

OmiD