How We Need Structure to Be Free...

Dear Beautiful Universe;

Many of us have issues with constraints..

Limitations.. deadlines... relationships... parameters...

And many on the path believe so ardently in living in the present moment that they don't want to impose any structure in their life, make any plans, or dream too much..

But what I have learned is this:

Structure can be constraining and imprisoning, if it is contrived.. if it is imposed as a rule, and not as a reflection of the truth revealed in the stream of life itself, it chokes off and prevents freedom.

The biggest way we get caught in the trap of unhealthy limitation is in adhering to labels and a concept that comes along with them.. I'm vegan, I'm Catholic, I'm diabetic, I'm single.. what are we buying into when we let something that is meant to be helpful to our understanding of life experiences and who we are control us? This reminds me of when I see my students reaching out of alignment to use the yoga blocks where they are- who is serving who here??

On the mat I teach that there is a foundational structure, rooting into the earth from the third chakra downward, we tighten and tone those muscles for support.  By creating that matrix, that structure, we consciously guide the flow of life energy through the body, instead of letting it haphazardly fall where it may.

I am an advocate of remaining connected to the present always, in communion via the sensations of the body and emotions, but I do not believe that all structure constrains, nor does laying down energetic groundwork for your inspirations to manifest in the future deter one from this connection to here and now. I have found that intelligently and consciously utilized structure liberates, as long as it emanates from one's experience, and is allowed to evolve as the present truth indicates. Structure is meant to serve your freedom, to direct the flow of energy to liberate you, NOT to stifle you.

Daily rituals and routines should not limit you, but follow the natural flow of your energy and inspiration and make best use of it, even amplify it.

A big part of getting free to be authentic and thus stop suffering is to question everything, to look at everything in barest most open observation and see if it is serving the flow of your consciousness and creative expression into this world.

Dreams are necessary, or else we drift unfocused and waste our potential.  We have to balance inspired flowing and floating with just a touch of conscious direction so as to manifest the visions we see in our hearts.  However, the gap between points A & B are filled with so many unknowns, and the eventual outcome may look nothing like how we saw it.  Yet, its our vision that takes us there, one moment at a time.

We cannot be free is we let ourselves flow into eddies and get stuck in dead-end cycles.  Like a bonsai tree is shaped, we shape our lives by the choices we make and the actions we take.  This is a receptive activity that we must find, as it cannot be all passive.

Contemplate this.. where you can implement inspired structure to get you past your roadblocks and stagnant times, and when that slowed-down feeling arises again, change the structure.

DO NOT get so caught in the trip of structure that you forget that you are in control of your happiness in the moment. You are free.. you just let layer upon layer of "should" and "should not" stand in your way. If it isn't harmful to another and arises joyously out of your heart, it is good and right and nothing should stand in the way. You are your inspiration. You are your passion. You are everything that you truly admire in the world! You just need to get out of your own way. 

Much love. ;) ~Laura