soul journey

Four year ago, I never thought I’d be leaving DC… but here it is. Life changes quickly, and in an instant a new chapter begins in our lives. The past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster, trying to see everyone before I head out, trying to get one last visit to my favorite places, but those all just become reasons to come back.

I often tell my clients that DC is a spiritual training ground. That many of us end up to go through the paces. My time here was not always the easiest, but in the end it helped me to grow into who I am now. We grow through the experience of living a complete life, one that both embraces love and pain fully.

This is one of the first times in my life that I am stepping into complete uncertainty, and I am okay with that. I am okay in the “not knowing”, not having to control the next steps of my life, and this has helped to realize that for the longest time I was not living in the present, and I really missed out on the people and experiences in my life. The past few months have shown me that we have to breathe into each moment deeply, and to just be present. DC has a way of getting you caught in the hustle and bustle. People tend to be movement driven, and I’m not saying that is a bad thing, but when it is not balanced with presence we really miss out. I see so many people tied to their electronics here… how many sunsets do they miss looking at “memes”? I realized I was doing a lot of this as well, but more caught up in my mind’s patterns of worry, doubt, and judgement. When the rug gets pulled out from underneath you, and there is nothing left to cling to, it changes your perspective on things, but closure does that.

Being closer to family, and coming back to my literal roots is going to be a positive thing. I’m going to work on developing my yoga practice, my healing work, and finally write the book I’ve been putting off for so long. My work is far from done, but sometime we need a change of pace, and a chance to gain clarity on our experience.

I will be back to the area to visit, to teach, and to be with friends/soul family.

I will miss many things here in DC, but I am looking forward to the next adventure, the unfolding journey, the next breath.

You are Loved. You are Beautiful. You are Divine.

Namaste.

Mike Brazell

This has been a year of remembrance. Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the ins and outs of life, the ups and downs, the lights and the darks, and the varying shades of gray. Sometimes we forget that the road itself is the destination, the journey is the process by which we connect into divine space. I’ve been fortunate to start working through T. Thorn Coyle’s “Kissing the Limitless”, and one of the things I love about this book is that it takes you backwards through the dark soil of your life. It allows you to find the soul seeds that you might have planted (or that might have been planted for you). Sometimes we sit in the upheaval and only see those things as damaging, when in reality those things may have been the spark we needed to grow into the spiritual people that we are. The journey we are on is just as important as the destination. We at time forget to look at the road. It’s many twists and turns, we only notice the times we trip on pebbles, but we get up. Sometimes we scrape our knees, and we learn to heal. Many of us do journey work as part of our practice. I am not saying that we should not have a destination, but we shouldn’t let the destination be the only thing we keep our eyes on. I have found that my journey needs to be fluid. I need to have space and the most difficult box for me to get out of is the one I place myself in. We often times fragment ourselves in this growing process. As those walking the spiritual path, it is important for us to re-assemble ourselves. Those thoughts from the past that grab you the strongest are sometimes the places where you have left a small piece of yourself. Go back and see what your lessons may have been in that phase of your journey. Listen to the road, otherwise you might find yourself in one of those crazy cul-de-sac spirals.

When we move into new places, we have to have appreciation for where we have been. The road ahead is built from the bricks of our past experiences. Those synchronicities that in the moment many have seemed “coincidence” that shifted us into who we are. My theory is that if we are still breathing when all is said and done that the divine must have some greater purpose for us. That the turmoil was just a stepping stone to something greater.

What have been your gifts from the struggle of your journey? Would you change your past, or do you find compassion for your road? Where are you headed traveler? What do you do to slow down and see the road beneath your feet?

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.deviantyogi.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com