Pay Attention

In this morning's yoga class, Shri said that the most practical advice she could give as a yoga teacher was this: "Pay attention, on the mat and in life." Great advice this is, for if we are paying attention we will notice that we are divinely guided. To what do we pay attention? To those meaningful coincidences I often write about; to those gut feelings and other physical sensations; to our own intuition, the knowledge that comes to us from beyond the realm of our thinking minds; to our dreams.

Once we're paying attention, the next task is to understand the messages that are coming to us. How is this done? Again, we can look to intuition and physical sensations. We can analyze our dreams, keep journals. We can begin to recognize patterns in our lives.

I talked to my dear friend in Santa Fe this morning about this, for she has been trying to listen to these messages that come to her. When she is being true to herself, so much lines up in place; her business receives the support it needs, she meets the people who can help her take whatever next steps she is meant to take, she finds temporary work with the propane company just when she needs to fill her tank! Lessons she needs to learn are presented to her again and again, sometimes in the form of relationships that mimic those of the past, sometimes in other challenges. With each lesson learned, the next is learned more quickly because she is paying attention, staying aware of how each seemingly separate part of life is, in fact, connected.

Such is the task for all of us. We are meant to pay attention, to tune in rather than out, because life is always telling us something we need to know in order to grow into our fullest potential. What has your life been trying to tell you lately?