Into the Unknown

The current Yoga Teacher Trainees are approaching the end of their 10-module course and will be graduating at the end of March. This time of transition from student into teacher can be quite emotional as it's akin to a fledgling chick about to launch out of the nest with excitement, freedom, trepidation, and uncertainty.  The thought of the week was inspired by the discussion of the "what's next" scenario, of stepping into the unknown space of going through a major undertaking and what to do upon its conclusion. The "now what?" moment has arrived for these budding teachers.

Some of you might identify with a strong trait that I possess which is that I like to "know" stuff. I'll ask who, what, where, when, why, how, how much, how long, what do I need to bring, to wear, how are we getting there, will somebody be meeting us, what do I need to pack...you get the idea. For me, the feeling of knowing is a feeling of being in control. So what's it like when we don't know? 

When we get all the knowing information gathered, it creates a boundary around us, leaving little room for uncertainty. At the same time, we are limited to what we know and might very well be missing out on the vast field of possibility and potential growth sitting outside our self-imposed boundary. 

This week in class, we've been doing a visualization of traveling into outer space. We began by getting grounded, driving imaginary roots into the earth to create a sense of connection to "home". Once settled upon the earth, we created a duplicate image of ourselves that rose above where we were and levitated like a drone above us, headed toward the earth's atmosphere. Upon busting through the earth's energetic boundary, we found ourselves floating out in space...silent and infinite. From this "God's eye view" of earth, we recognize our connection to the earth family below and realized that sitting out in the infinite open space was a message for us to bring back to our earth family. Out in this open field of pure potential and unknowing is the unmanifested opportunity of our life. Gathering this message, whether or not we knew what it was, we descended back through the earth's atmosphere and merged once again in the home base of our physical body.

By staying open and cultivating the interior landscape of our being, this outer space message has ripe soil in which to germinate. And when the conditions are right, the unmanifest in our lives, blossoms into manifestation.

By embracing the unknown and opening ourselves to all possibilities, we have the potential to evolve into a greater sense of connection and purpose. By stepping into the unknown, we grow. By not knowing what's next and nourishing our "inner soil" we prepare ourselves for anything to unfold.

One of my all-time favorite quotes by Patrick Overton feels appropriate:

"When I come to the edge of all the light I have and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, I believe that one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid for me to stand on- or I will be taught how to fly."

Happy exploring!