I’ve been a bit lax about posting this month. I apologize. I’ve been prepping for the Conference on Current Pagan Studies next weekend and trying to generate move movement on the Shamanic Labyrinth Project, plus there have been some potential health concerns about air quality.

Anyway, this is a fairly important weekend for me, spiritually, so I thought I would write a little something.

All of the energy of the Universe has an inbreath and an outbreath, an ebb and a flow, a pull and a push. When we don’t honor that, we put ourselves in imbalance. This includes our spiritual quest. We must balance introspection, study, and processing with putting spiritual principles into practice, with being of service, and with selflessness. We look within, we act without. We get quiet, we get into action. Both are vitally important to our spiritual well being.

It is helpful, in seeking this balance, to have a place to which one can retreat. Sometimes we find or create that consciously. Sometimes the Universe just makes sure we have it. The original prompt for this post was the Feast Day of St Antony of Egypt, founder of the Christian monastic system. As I was writing, though, I realized that Martin Luther King Jr, known for his actions, wrote one of his most profound essays while in the Montgomery jail. I am also realizing the energy flow working on me inherent in those two great influences – monasticism and social activism. Get quiet, make things happen. When I train people in nonviolent civil disobedience, I try to emphasize the importance of being grounded and centered. That generally requires getting quiet and going inward.

Take some time this week to be mindful of the flow of your energy, and seek to balance the inbreath with the outbreath, the pull with the push. You might even consider journaling your efforts and their results, most notably how you feel and how effective you seem to be.

You are the Light of the World!
Ayamanatara