The Power of ALLOWING

I am a little late getting my newsletter out this week because I was out of town this past weekend. It was a welcomed break from what continues to be a tumultuous time for my family and me.

Buddhist psychology talks about how we can think of ourselves as the ocean;  and the waves and storms that we experience are just temporary, moments of turmoil within that vast ocean. This week for me the waves were strong, the highs were high and the troughs were deep so I began to think about the concept of surfing. When we surf we have to strike that perfect balance between stability and strength and the fluidity of allowing the wave to take us. I was reminded of this poem below that talks about the power of ALLOWING.

I asked my students to connect to their inner strength and stability and then to just allow whatever was coming to come on the mat as practice for that allowing off of it. The practice of surfing is not just for the literal waves but the emotional ones as well.
 

Allow by Dana Faulds
There is no controlling life. Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado. Dam a stream and it will create a new channel. Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet. Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground. The only safety lies in letting it all in– the wild and the weak; fear, fantasies. Failures, and success. When loss rips off the doors of the heart, or sadness veils your vision with despair, practice becomes simply bearing the truth. In the choice to let go of your known way of being, the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.