Words...

Hello friends... It's been a while. Pull up a comfy chair and get a cup of tea. Let's chat. Let's talk about words... Words are powerful in many ways. In our yoga and meditation practices we often Om or even use mantras to deepen our awareness and focus. In our teacher training we practice, practice, and practice (just ask them how much we practice...) honing our words as we guide yogis in class. In our daily lives we use words to communicate all sorts of things. Have you ever been in a conversation and thought, "What are they really trying to tell me?" I was just in one of those this morning… 

I've been thinking a lot lately about the power of words and how they help and hurt. And how even when we may have the best of intentions our words sometimes can still hurt. Or maybe we just aren't paying attention to what we are saying or who is around us. Do we realize the impact of our words? Do we miss the influence our conversations have on others? Are we unintentionally hurting others with just our words? And, if and when we realize our words have been hurtful to others, how do we reconnect or repair? Super important questions...

In the Yoga Sutras, we learn about Ahimsa. When we talk about Ahimsa, or the concept of non-harming, we can look at our words as well. Traditionally, ahimsa is viewed as non-killing or even non-physical harming actions, but let's take it a step further. Patanjali refers not only to action but intention. Ahimsa is an attitude of harmlessness. It is the understanding that our attitude will either limit or expand our connection to every part of the universe around us, and that when we harm others we are harming ourselves. Maybe our intent is to be proud of what we are accomplishing. Maybe we are trying to feel better about ourselves by saying what an awesome job we are doing. Maybe we are intending to be positive and supportive but it is not received that way...

More than a couple of times in the past weeks I have heard people say, "I'm trying to move past how those words made me feel". Wow. What a statement. First, there is the realization that they have an emotional reaction that may not be the intent of the statement made. This is human nature- we react and respond based on our experiences and stories we create. And to understand that this is a built in bias that is different than others is a great way to find understanding. Being able to separate our emotional reactions from our experiences gives us a stronger platform to connect and communicate.  When we communicate from a place that we have released our emotional reaction and understand where it is coming from we can really hear what is being said. 

The second part of that statement is that the words used hurt. And the person using those words has no realization. Or does but either does not know how to recover, help, or heal or just doesn't want to. This is probably the hardest part of this dialog. When practicing Ahimsa, we intend to cause no harm, but sometimes, even with the best of intentions and practice, harm still occurs. So then what? It is our responsibility to follow up and recover. To heal what we can. Sometimes it's as simple (it's not simple at all, I get it) as "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." Talk about powerful words- I'm sorry. But whoa, can those be difficult words.... and it is so difficult to be truly sorry when we are coming from a place of defensiveness (those emotions again!)

So where am I going with this? Well, I think the purpose of this ramble is that I'm seeing everyone over stressed. I see so many people walk in our door at RedBloom and say they are too busy or have too much going on. The stress of this world is high right now and only getting higher. We rush into things, including conversations and we aren't taking the time to really pay attention and listen to what is happening. So I ask each one of us to pause before we speak. To really share love and support with each other through words and deeds. To find what is important to say and say it kindly. 

I'll start. I'll be honest that this blog is difficult. I have not put myself out there for a very long time because, well, words hurt and I don't want to be hurt. But here we go. Let's grow together. Let's make RedBloom the seed of kindness and community that spreads out to the entire world. This community is beautiful, and strong, and supportive of everyone. And I love that. I love you. 

Namaste