Balance & Patterns
Identifying patterns and inviting balance for aligned living
Patterns
I should have been a ballerina. As a Virgo, nothing thrills me more than the idea of standing upright, strong, and aligned at the bar moving through tendus everyday. Realistically, this dream fades farther and farther away the older I become. In 2019 I had set a goal to dance in pointe shoes by age 50. That age has passed, and while this dream may still come to fruition in some way…only time and a restructuring of daily routines will allow it to manifest. (also read: restructuring of daily ‘patterns!’).
Luckily, I can watch my daughter perform her most striking, strong, beautiful ballet and revel in that. She can use her movements and her words to show and tell me how it feels, and I can experience it through my eyes and heart. And it looks as glorious as I know it must feel.
That said, let’s begin our pattern recognition study right here - with ballet - and move swiftly through several others.
The pattern of ballet is very technical, as it must be…for the sake of beauty and safety of the body.
The pattern of yoga moves through sequences of body and mind and breath.
Of body. Body strengthening. Body softening.
Of mind. Mind focusing. Mind letting go.
Of breath. Breath in. Breath out.
The pattern of meditation (yes, also yoga) and prayer are of mind and Spirit. Moving focus from the external to the internal, external…internal. Listening and asking and surrendering. Again and again.
The pattern of tarot speaks to us in symbol. Symbols ancient as time and ingrained in our unconscious through the collective, encouraging us to find our greatness, our path, our purpose…through repeated seeing and sensing…looking and learning…adventuring and resting. Beginnings and endings…birthing and dying…over and over again.
The pattern of astrology connects us to the cosmos, both waayyyy ooouutttut theeerrrreee and to the cosmos right here, inside our own star-made bodies. Ebbs and flows of the tide guided by the Moon. Centering and grounding with the Earth. Acting and expanding…awakening and transforming…Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Pluto…along with all other celestial bodies, uniting to support, encourage, assist, and inspire ourselves as Earth-bound celestial Beings.
The pattern of thought and idea shifts between a mind of confidence and forward movement to a mind of fear and being stuck in the past. From visions of abundance, freedom, and prosperity to bothersome, worrisome, pestering thoughts of lack, restriction, and failure.
The pattern of nature brings us sunshine in the summer and snow in the winter. Flowers and sweet babies of all types in spring, and falling, faded leaves and the desire for rest in autumn.
Note for Awareness & Observation
Many of these patterns, naturally and at their extremes, hold the continuum of opposites…the yin and yang pattern of life. Without these patterns of opposites, poles, positives and negatives…we could not exist. For without the ability to reproduce, through the Masculine and Feminine…without the Sun and the Moon…the Light and the Dark…the rainy and dry seasons…all life would cease to BE.
A Pattern of Threshold
At a New Year…pattern in the forms of standards and traditions, rituals and celebrations.
December 31st/January 1st…gives us our standard, routine calendar year
Lunar…a beautiful new Chinese tradition I’m still learning, offering us at this moment in time…the Year of the Horse [Fire]
Astrological…another magical tradition I’m studying deeply…affecting our outer and inner worlds…cosmically, spiritually, materially…completely
Seasons & Cycles…brought to us by Mother Nature and Father Time…gifting us this beautiful world to explore and experience
Individual, Personal Birthdays…when we are blessed, we continue to collect these threshold moments…year after year after year…
Personal Inquiry
If you’re reading this, you’ve experienced many New Year’s…
Imagine yourself standing at the literal threshold of a New Year. Perhaps you picture yourself standing at a line with one foot about to cross it, or you’re at the edge of a cliff, or on the beach staring at the horizon.
December 31st, 11:59:59…at this moment you have new hopes and dreams, reasons for change and expansion, and the resolve to do, be, attract more over the next 365 days.
January 1st, 12:00:00…all the possibilities that exist in your mind, the world, the Universe now belong to you.
Breathe…
How are your New Year’s Resolutions, those new habits, routines…patterns…unfolding, expanding, allowing you to create the life you desire, as you’ve now crossed the threshold from the second to the third month of the New Year?
Balance
Observing the symbols, the story in the image before us…What do you see?
Let’s explore…the pouring of water between vessels.
Flow
Peace
Integration
Self-regulation
Harmony between extremes
Balance…Balance…Balance…
Standing in the water…
Clarity
Cleansing
Centering
Awakening
Balance through clarity, cleansing, centering, and awakening, again and again…
Brahmacharya
A yogic yama, or ethical guide, brahmacharya presents us with an opportunity to seek and incorporate moderation, balance in our daily life.
Diving deeply into the cosmic center of Self…
What can I do today to place myself into balance with my true, material, Earthly Self and my radiant, effervescent, Divine Self?
What needs clarifying, cleansing, in order to life a life in flow, balanced, and whole?
Exploration Prompts
How do I define threshold?
What thresholds do I interact with, cross each day, month, every year? How do I anticipate and act upon these thresholds, whether they be physical or invisible?
How do I define alignment?
What areas do I notice in my life right now that are either aligned or misaligned with who I feel I am now or who I am becoming?
How do I define myself?
Defining myself…As “……….” or “……….” can make a significant difference in how I see and approach the world, how I breathe, act, speak, interact…face joys or difficult situations.
Example:
I define myself as a successful writer. OR I define myself as a tired, lazy bum. I may be saying both to myself at the same time…a disruptive, unbalanced, misaligned pattern of mind and belief…
Which definition ends up driving the ship?
Closing thoughts…
Going back to the pattern of tarot, with Temperance is our card of the month…I present you with two questions:
Tarot…Why does it matter? What makes it meaningful?
Here’s my short answer:
Because tarot allows you to ‘see’ what is
meant for you.
Coming up later this month…a yoga nidra focused on Temperance, with a bit of our annual theme, the abundance and leaving of a legacy of the X of Pentacles. I hope you’ll join me in this practice!
🕊️ Seeking spiritual guidance?
🩰 Looking for those patterns or some much needed life balance?
❓ Have an inquiry tugging at your heart?
Let me coach you through guided meditation and the cards to find your way forward!
Begin the booking process here!
See you soon!
🩷⛲️🦋🩷⛲️🦋🩷⛲️🦋
Michelle