Its better to burn out than fade away. Neil Young
I don't. Here's why; burning out means you are doing too much too fast, you aren't taking time for you, you aren't taking time to be at peace within your spirit. Your spirit is just as important as taking care of your physical body. It needs to be nurtured, it needs to be fed and cared for, it needs shelter sometimes, and it needs exercise too. It also needs rest. If you are constantly on, your spirit is too.
We tend to live our lives in a linear fashion. Everything flows from one second, minute, hour and day to the next in a simple flow. But spirit does not move that way. Spirit flows forward and back, up and down. It utilizes alot of energy.
We get through a work week, and that week doesn't have to be a Monday through Friday week of leaving our homes and doing jobs for other people. It can be getting up and taking care of the kids, doing the house work, volunteering at the local pet shelter, or working shift work and weekends, it is simply defined as when your normal daily tasks have a day or two detour before beginning again. And that is the perfect time to release the excess negative energies our spirits gather up while acting as a filter for us. It is the perfect time to re-center ourselves or ground ourselves, to prepare our spirits for the next round. Life, in and of itself as we humans have created it on this planet, it a daily battle for our minds, bodies and spirits.
There are a few ways we can do this, my favorite is a meditation that can take place indoors or out. In nice weather I love to do this outside as the benefits are all the greater. For outdoors, find yourself a nice spot within nature, this can be your yard, a local park, the edge of a river bank. Where ever you feel drawn to and comfortable. Bring something to sit or kneel on, or sit directly on the ground if comfortable like that. I use a favorite tree in my yard quite often, and when able, I head to the beach. For indoors find a nice quiet spot in your home that you won't be disturbed in. It should be temperature comfy for you, and you should be sitting in an area where you can easily reach out and put your hands down on either side of you or in front of you. If you have an area with hard wood flooring, all the better.
This meditation is best done in the early morning, by all means if you must have your tea or coffee first, go ahead - but I promise it will taste even better after the meditation! :)
Find your place, make yourself comfortable.
Close your eyes and take three deep, cleansing breaths. Allow each one to be deeper than the last, really fill your lungs to capacity and then exhale until you can't anymore. Breathe in through your nose, then exhale through your mouth. As you do this you should feel your shoulders drop to a relaxed position, your legs and feet relax and become heavier. Hold your arms in any position that feels comfortable to you right now, folded in your lap, at your sides, or even held slightly away from your torso with palms turned up. With your eyes closed do what I call "turning the closed eye", try to focus on seeing the inside of your eyelids. This technique brings your sight into a deeper darkness and allows you to concentrate only on that part of your body, your eyes and mind and the work at hand. As you do this, tell your mind to clear itself, stop thinking of anything but this moment, use your mind to keep that darkness present and begin to feel your mind becoming weightless. This may take a few moments, don't rush it. When that feeling takes over, allow it to relax everything about you.
Reach out your hands now - touch the tree in front of you, the grass below you, the wooden floor or carpet. Lay your hands out flat, with fingers separated. Softly strum your fingers, one at a time, from pinky to thumb. S-t-r-u-m-bum, s-t-r-u-m-bum, s-t-r-u-m-bum, s-t-r-u-m-bum. Feel as each finger tip touches down and registers the surface, focus on the tactile sensation, send your energies to your fingers. Begin to recognize the spirit and energy of what you are touching, ask it to revel itself to you. Tress may speak the quickest and loudest to you; their spirits are ancient, even if the tree is young, they are connected to each other through a root system in Mother Earth that carries their conscience spirit one to the other. In grass you may hear small voices, but strong none the less. The voices of the insects and small plants, of the dirt that was once life and now harbors life. Indoors it may take alittle more time to hear, but be patient - the wood floor still carries the warmth of the memories of the trees it came from, the carpet still carries the memories of the sheep that bore it's wool. If you are on man made material reach down deeper with your mind, all homes have a wooden base you can eventually connect with. Once you can hear it, once you are connected earth will almost take over for you - our natural cleansing system of dirt and rock and fiber will begin to strain out the negative from your spirit connection. You may feel a pulsing begin in your hands. Lets this go, let it happen. Whenever I feel a connection to the earth or another spirit I begin to rock back and forth, you may too; the natural vibrations of a spirit connection move you at a cellular level and this may manifest in physical movement. It is a wonderful feeling, like a waltz with a spiritual partner! Within just a few moments you may feel lighter, and this is the time to begin thanking your connection. Continue to listen to the voice you hear, there may be a wise message for you, and tell your connection you are open to their wisdom, ready to learn from the ancients, prepared to give of yourself in gratitude for their taking in and filtering of all the noise and waste and negativity you have gathered up in a week of human interaction and busy-ness. Allow yourself to stay in this connection as long as you wish, as long as you need. Do not be surprised if this release of spiritual waste comes with tears, that is perfectly natural. When you are ready, begin the strum of you fingers again, this time you are saying goodbye. Start strong, and make each strum lighter as you go. Then still your hands, and pick them up, or off and place them on your own body. Take a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes. Be aware of your lighter self, of your cleansed self. Take a moment to look around you, whisper a thank you, and go on with your day.
I hope this cleansing meditation will help you. I try to do it as often as I need and we can forget how often that is. A good way to remember is to actually mark your calender! Just as you would write down when to get the oil changed in your car, pick up milk at the store, or schedule a meeting, so should you attend to your spiritual self!
Until next time...........be well!