Wake Up! It's Time to Manifest Your Dreams February 3, 2017 13:37
When I was a kid, I used to visit my cousins, Michelle and Linda. They lived on a farm in Fairland, Indiana. They raised chickens on their farm, and one time, we were all out playing in the backyard while their rooster, Hercules, was strutting around. My aunt Betty warned me not to let him come too close—he was aggressive and “ornery.” I’m sure Hercules sensed right away that I was not a country girl, nor part of the usual barnyard company, and he seemed to take pleasure in chasing me around the yard. He flapped his glossy wings and taunted me with his sharp talons and menacing spurs. He scrutinized me closely with intense, gold eyes. Fortunately, I was able to outrun Hercules while also providing a source of entertainment for Michelle, Linda, Aunt Betty, and all the chickens in the yard.
2017 is the year of the Fire Rooster. Roosters are flashy and elegant; they’re strong and vibrant, and they are fiercely protective of their community. The Fire Rooster has some wisdom to offer, whether you are cultivating goals, dreams… or a japa practice.
*Persistence
Don’t be chicken—take charge of your own meditation practice and take time out every single day to sit, to chant, to breathe and be. Any discipline requires perseverance and tenacity. Carving out time to dedicate to your practice is essential. Before long, you’ll start to notice positive effects—you’ll be able to remain calm and find your center while others around you are consumed by fear, convinced that “the sky is falling.”
*Strength
Be “unpeckable” in body, speech, and mind. A regular mantra practice can help you discover and wake up to what really matters to you. This mindful awareness can help bolster your confidence to pursue your goals and dreams. It can ignite your emotional resolve and motivate you to take action in order to manifest those pursuits.
*Refinement
After you establish a regular japa practice, you may begin to notice a need to clearly define your own boundaries—the need to scrutinize and refine what matters. It can be as simple as creating a beautiful space to meditate, and then tending to that space to keep it clean. It may be choosing a beautiful mala that resonates with you and your intentions—each recitation—each shimmering bead—helps to unfold and uncover your own power and elegance.
Hercules was pretty intimidating and scary to me as a kid. However, his intensity and fiery resolve to protect…to tend…to examine…all of these noble characteristics warm the fire element of my own heart and motivate me to tenaciously pursue what I love.