To Do or Not to DO?
Part 1. The DO-ER
This year has started very well for me… Or at least this is what I kept telling myself because I was constantly ticking off things on my to do list. Then one day I noticed that I fell into a trap of consistent do-ing. To the point when even my play time and my being time had to be scheduled and restricted so it doesn’t interfere with my Do-ing time which is naturally way more important (wink).
Everything was fine until I started feeling like an imposter. “What kind of Tantra Yoga teacher am I and how can I teach tantric philosophy to people when in my desire to do more good I become too much of a Do-er and not enough of a Be-er?!
QUESTION?
And just like that an alternative to a classical Shakespearean question came to mind:
“To do or not to do?”. It feels like a more appropriate question in modern society, or is it just me?
Every day we are meant to go through To Do lists and we are trained to feel good at the end of a day only, if we had a productive day. The word productive by definition means ‘resulting in or providing a large amount or supply of something’ according to Cambridge Dictionary. Or in my words, when we completed 80-90% of the tasks we had created for ourselves. The problem is, that nothing ever is 100% completed and those incomplete 10-20% keep creating an infinite list of things to do and the cycle continues.
Then there’s the need to compartmentalise our lives and set goals so we seem “balanced” and “accomplished“. For example, you are asked to write down 8 areas of your life and a list of what you want to improve in each area, so you can bring into reality all your dreams and aspirations.
Wait, another to do list x 8?
STICK to IT!
Let’s not forget the pressure of being successful. One needs to have a plan, discipline to follow through with it, structure to daily routine and ability to stick with it.
However, one thing that a lot of us don’t know or realise is that the qualities I listed above are attributed to the masculine energy, and there is enough information around that we need to create balance between masculine and feminine in the collective consciousness. Please note, I didn't say awaken your feminine energy, as it is there. The scale has two sides and only when both sides have equal weight it is balanced.
“Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create”
Now, let’s explore the attributes of the feminine energy so we can understand how to create balance. Creativity, fluidity, unpredictability, adaptability, nurturing, unstructured (for a good reason) and allowing things to happen when the time is right. How many of us can say that they are OK with this flow of day to day life? I am sure not many or there might be a division where one can lean one way or the other. Well actually, our social programming will lead us more towards the masculine way of managing our life. And what if we were to explore how to merge the two and create harmony within and without?
We are barely 3 months into 2024 but it also means the first quarter is gone. Have we done enough to be proud of how many things we have accomplished? Pause for a moment here and just feel how your body answers this question.
The good news is…
The 1st quarter of the calendar year has gone by, but the astrological year has only just begun with the Spring Equinox on the 20th of March, and then there is Vedic new year on the 14th of April. So we have time!
There is also a corridor of eclipses (lunar and solar) and it is very possible that this blog post is brought up by these energies. In many spiritual traditions eclipses are known for stirring things up and viewed as moments of heightened energy and connection to the divine, individually and collectively. These portals to the subconscious bring to light hidden aspects of ourselves or unresolved issues that need to be addressed. So here I am, addressing what has come up for me and sharing in case some of you can relate. It may be my article or the cycles of nature that remind you to look within, but use it only as guidance. At the end of the day your experience and consistent checking in with yourself is the most important teaching of all.
Nothing on the outside can tell you how you should/or shouldn’t feel. Self enquiry in a safe space with a controlled mind is a very powerful tool in creating balance.
Ability to create balance was my motivation when I started to study tantra philosophy and tantra yoga. Nowadays, I am often asked “Why Tantra?”. And I shall happily explain this in Part 2, so stay tuned.
In the mean time, join us in exploring the Art of Be-ing in the upcoming events.
