Awakening Self Blog

Still and Quiet – Gifts of Winter

Wintertime has many spiritual gifts for us; perhaps the greatest are opportunities to be still and quiet, teaching us the way to inner peace. What speaks to you in the quiet of Winter? What do you hear in the pause between the gusts of wind, blo…

Flow vs. Drain

Many of us complain about feeling drained, as if all our energy empties out from our day to day responsibilities and encounters. To feel more vibrant and sustainable energy, it’s helpful to distinguish between the water-based concepts of…

Aalasya (Laziness): The 5th Obstacle to Spiritual Practice

This post, on Aalasya (laziness), is the fifth of a 9-part series on the obstacles (antarayas) to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: vyādhistyānasanśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmika…

The Time of the Inner Mystery

Fall takes us into the subtle realms - the inner mystery - where we interact with our spirit and our unconscious through dreams, visions, intuition, and imagination. Autumn’s longer nights turn us to the unknown within us - the inner mysteries. The dark represents the...

The Inner Balance of Autumn… Through Tree Pose

Autumn brings changes - from the thermometer to the inner self. At the Autumn Equinox, the point of equal days and nights that initiates the growing darkness of fall, we are called to look into ourselves and find a new inner balance. While summer called for activity,...

Transitions – The Essence of the Autumn Shift

Autumn is a time of change and slowing down. As we move into this season, let it teach you about the gifts of transitions. We’ve just passed one of the four cardinal points of the year – pivotal points that transition from one ener…