Connecting to "Being"

By Terri McDermott, E-RYT200, E-RYT500, IYTA, YACEP, CMA, IPC

I recently left the theatre after seeing the highly publicized “Barbie” movie by request of  my 13 year old granddaughter and her friend, who had all the pink one could handle on their  bodies. Without a clue what I was getting into, other than thinking this was all about living in  Barbie’s Dreamland, I obliged. What in the world was I thinking seeing a movie without reading  reviews first? Onward we went and when I left it took some time to process all the possibilities  and meanings behind what I’d just seen and exposed these young women to. The last 20  minutes of the movie provided the message that hit home for me and I spent some time  explaining to the girls my beliefs around self study, which leads to self discovery, getting to  know and become familiar with our true nature, it’s opponent, the energy we surround  ourselves with, our connection to the energy around us, and how it sucks us in.   
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We step into a world of perfectly pink where everything is as it should be, according to  Barbie in her perfect world. This is a replication of what many of us long for, a perfect world.  What exactly does that mean? Does this mean we overextend ourselves to a life of living for  material possessions, the perfect career, the perfect family? Do we identify with and live life  based on the size of our home, the numbers of cars in the driveway, the number of 0’s in our  paychecks? For many, it certainly does. We’ve been led to believe that our importance lies  with the things we possess, the letters at the end of our name, the things that pull us away  every so easily from that beautiful voice and “being” that resides within. I wonder, often times,  what that “being” feels as it watches us get pulled further and further away from source. It is in  that pursuit we get lost, we move so far away from center we now lie within the physical realm  of a constant state of flight, fright or freeze mode. Yes, it is indeed factual information that we,  in this day and age, live in this constant state and it is considered to be the new norm. What  does that mean? It means that we are pulled, energetically into a space of constriction, of  struggle, of numbness and we exist there. There is neither gain nor loss, just continuous forces  resisting one another creating the largest of stressors in our life.  

Physically, that means that our body also has to work more intensely and with much  more strain and difficulty to keep us healthy as we run in frantic circles to attain more with less.  What does this lead to? This leads to stress, high BP, cardiac and respiratory issues, dis-ease  in any way, shape or form that it chooses to settle and take root in a weak spot and inevitably  takes over. Can you take a moment for me right now to stop everything you are doing and  note your body and any tension you may be holding at this very moment. It’s there…it’s natural  and it will remain until you choose to find balance and harmony in this life. 

Energetically, our Pancha Kosha or five layers of consciousness move further and  further away from our true nature, our soul. It is stated within the Vedas, the most ancient  Hindu scriptures, that human birth is given to us to strive to know and understand the “being”  within. How is that at all possible when we have moved so far away from that connection to  self. 

Spiritually, you no longer hear that beautiful voice of intuition, faith is lost, relationships  are disrupted, values become questionable and disconnection to every living thing takes place.  Patterns of the past are repeated and we remain in a rut that seems impossible to move away  from.  

Barbie’s Dreamland, where all is perfection, where day to day repetition of the same  things and patterns exist and never change, until one becomes aware of what it is they are  lacking in this life. How is it that we truly come to know that “being” within? Become aware of  what it is that is important in this life. Become aware of what one truly needs for this existence.  Become aware of the repeated patterns that provide continued uncertainty in life. It’s time that  we all PAUSE, take a step back and seek our “being” within. How might we do that when we  come to that realization of the need for self-discovery? It is the path of yoga! Yoga is not a  practice of asana alone. It is not a path of meditation alone. It is not a path of soul searching alone. It is ongoing work in this life to shed the layers of illusion that “what we need lies  outside of us and in possessions what allows us to feel secure in owning things”. It is a  beautiful path of caring for oneself and others, even if that means stepping away from all that  we’ve become comfortable with until now, this moment when we realize there is more. It is  time for each of us to ask the question of ourselves, “What is it that truly matters in this life and  how do I connect deeply to who I am?” 

I am here to work with you, at your place of realization in this life to guide you back to  the tools to connect you to your own personal space of contentment, of harmony, of balance  and connection to self, to all that truly matters! No matter how far away we’ve gone from that  connection to the self, we can always return, but the work must be done.  

Terri McDermott 
E-RYT500, Spiritual/Life Coach, Teacher, Nurturer, Guide and Friend 
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“When we become the observer of our own self, without identification, justification or  condemnation, the inner music of silence becomes a joy. As long as we identify, as long as we  condemn and as long as we justify, it will be noise.”  
Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani

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