The vaccine division

The vaccine drama has stepped up a pace this last week, with increasing division as judgments fly around and persecution is rife.

I still hold true to my sentiment that it should be about freedom of choice as to what we put into our blood stream, not about what anyone else thinks and certainly not about being pro or anti.

We have to move on from this division in society, the us and them, the right and wrong, the black and white, and realise that there is always a middle ground and always another way - an open minded one at that.

In chapter 2 of the Yoga Sutras, verse 46 reads, “sthira sukham āsanam” which means that a yoga posture (āsana) must be firm and comfortable. Some āsanas will have more comfort and some more firmness, but they will have both. Verse 47 asks how this is achieved and the answer combines intelligent effort and appropriate effort. Like two sides of the same coin when the effort is appropriate, a release will happen. This applies as much to the breath as to what you are doing physically. Through this ‘right’ effort and release, there is a union, a coming together, a merging with the infinite.

Verse 48 asks what is to be gained from this practice. The answer is simple - dark/light, hot/cold, wet/dry, happy/sad, together/alone; we will no longer be disturbed by pairs of opposites, so we can endure change and variation much more clearly. It’s not that it won’t affect us, but that it won’t disturb us.

In the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 2, verse 38, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to treat success and failure, profit and loss, unhappy occurrences and happy ones just the same. We are encouraged to flow, to do our duty, without worrying about the results. So it must be with life too. We must do what feels right for us and not be disturbed by our choices made if we are to experience the peace of mind we seek and release us from our suffering.

We each have a right to make a choice based on our own bodies and intuitive guidance and we should not feel that we have to defend this. There are always two sides to every story and always a middle ground. Fretting about what others think or defending the choices we have made only serves to diminish us and achieves nothing. It also sets us up for war - attack/defend, and the world needs greater harmony, not less.

When we are clear in our own heart and mind about the choices we are making and the path ahead then we will be less disturbed by anyone else - the yogi will be less disturbed (see above). A yoga practice at this time can be extremely helpful (at all times when I come to think about it!) to help strengthen us. The mind is a tricky thing, but yoga helps us to know more of it and stand strong within ourselves (standing up on our own two feet, able to see all sides).

If we feel we need the vaccine then we should have it, if we feel we don’t need the vaccine, then don’t have it, it’s very simple, we should not allow ourselves to be disturbed by others about it. Furthermore, those of us who attack would do well to question the reasons for this - are we trying to start a war? What right do we feel we have to judge others for their decision made? Perhaps we might delve into the root of this, whether it’s fear, a sense of righteousness, or because of our conditioned response to life (we do what everyone does without questioning it).

We should remember that karma has a habit of biting us in the bum when we least expect it - that which goes around comes around. There are always at least two sides to every story and innumerable lives lived and absolutely always another way, one of oneness and unity, if we allow it. We are ALL human after all.

Covid has ushered in huge change for us all. The way we have been living and abusing this planet has to change if we are to ensure the survival of humanity in years ahead. Yet there is this desperation to return to the ‘normal’ of the old world, to get travelling come what may, regardless of the impact on the environment.

It’s too late to go back to how things were and would we want to anyway? It’s difficult though and I say this as a now ex-traveller (I loved to travel and see the world) - that world has changed, travelling (certainly in the short term) will never be what it was and in many respects I’m pleased about that.

I’m weary of hearing of the number of people who have gotten the vaccine just because of travelling. As if somehow we missed the point to it all. Not the vaccine, I couldn't care less if you had the vaccine (in the nicest possible way!) What I mean is the desperation, as if our ability to travel demonstrates that we’re through the worst of it now, as if life has returned to some sort of order and normalcy - it’s become certain again.

There is no certainty in life, there never has been and never will be. Yet we are always trying to make it certain, buying into it, quite literally, as if having the latest technology will save us all, lining the pockets for the wealthy, selling out on our souls and on this beautiful planet as it is reaped of all its raw materials. The fact we call them raw materials is the give away - we sell out time and time again. We sell out on our health and wellbeing and we sell out on nature, we are continuously seeing ourselves as separate, buying into more of the illusion and literally buying, buying, buying.

We would do well to remember that despite the seeming chaos, the universe is always in perfect order, and more fool us for thinking otherwise. The trouble is that as our logical minds can’t figure it all out, we drop into fear easily when we lose sense of being in control of things. But we’re never in control, not really, not of the universe and its workings, the only thing we can control is the way we react to life as it unfolds, and ultimately, this is all about our minds.

Our mind needs to let go of thinking that life has to look a certain way. Sure, it’s difficult to let go of that which we love. I loved the freedom of getting on a plane and seeing other landscapes and cultures, but it came at a cost, not least to my bank balance but to the world at large. There has been a grieving as I have tried to come to terms with this new world of settling in one place, but heck, look at what a beautiful place it is, I live in paradise and yet its so easy to overlook it.

We all have the power to create the life of our dreams, to cultivate a positive perspective, to see through the view of illusion. Connecting with nature at large and with the moon can help with this. Nature talks to us, the moon talks to us, if we let it. My plants talk to me, stones talk to me too. People think I’m mad because it’s beyond their level of comprehension but its true. We live in a vibrating world of energy, communicating, we just need to get ourselves and our left brain logic resistance out of the way to appreciate it and tap into it.

There is so much more to us than we can ever realise in this lifetime. I’m keen to give it a try, but nonetheless I am aware of the depth of our conditioning that prevents us from accessing these deeper dimensions within ourselves, let alone out there in nature and the universe at large. Just because we don’t understand something or it’s beyond our realm of understanding, does not stop it being real, but we will often dismiss it anyway and accuse someone of being mad. But who is truly mad, the dreamer or those who don’t dream, the believer or those who don’t believe?

Again its not one or the other, but about unity and about settling more into the infinite, knowing more of the self, that doesn't feel the need to defend or attack as there is nothing to lose or win, just a whole heap of experience - the soul is frequently seeking opportunities to experience itself. There is always the need for discernment of course on the spiritual path, especially where new age spiritualism is concerned, the spiritual ego is tricky, but so is a closed mind.

I led a Reiki One attunement session today and with the moon waxing up now, it has become clearer that we have to pave a new way and we each have a role to play in that. I had hoped we might make it to Orkney this summer, or even Glastonbury, but I realise that I will merely be feeding the energy of hanging onto the past and the way life was lived. Sure, it’s messy when we enter a new way of being, because it is unclear how that will manifest itself into our reality, but we have faith to help us keep going with the flow, at least, once we’ve let go into the flow.

My new dowsing rods took me to a random stone in the middle of a complex of fields in rural St Andrew’s yesterday evening with the moon rising one side and the sun setting the other, and the message was clear. We must trust in the flow and in the intuitive guidance we receive. We have to hold strong to that regardless of what anyone else thinks or believes. We each have our own journey here on planet earth and we should honour that, knowing that we are all one ultimately.

There is no doubt that this super full moon eclipse (not that we’ll see the eclipse) is truly encouraging us to let go. Let go into the flow of the path that covid is taking us. The more we resist it, the greater our suffering will be. We should focus on cultivating greater faith and trust so that we don’t lose our energy and disempower ourselves. The universe always has our back even if we don’t realise it. The goddess too, if you are fortunate to have a relationship with Her. Let’s be the change we want to see in the world and let everyone else go on about their day in their way - think union, not division.

Happy waxing full moon, she’s an insightful one, go within!

xx