I put on my headphones, hop onto the cardio machine and away I go. I actually say to Stu that I'm “off planet” for the next hour and I am not to be disturbed. I also put music on when I write these blogs. Music is a sanctuary for me. It's a way of pulling my attention away from the outside world and completely delving into the space of where my mind is at the time. I use music to help me daydream, connect and relax. I also love complete silence which, unless you go to the flotation tanks in Uplands you're unlikely to get anywhere else. My creative room, my readings room, my bedroom, all of them can be sanctuary's for me and I need them all. There is a fine line between retreating into the self and disconnection and there is a definitive way to tell the difference between the two. When I am in retreat mode because I am sick of what is around me and I just need to stop thinking for a moment I slip into disconnection, when I come out of it I feel EXACTLY the same. Maybe a little less stressed, maybe a little less frazzled but at my core I am no more centred than I was when I started. When I dive into a space of sanctuary I come out feeling like I have shed a skin.
After a good workout I feel energized, creative, inspired and I can hear my inner voice more clearly. These are the ways you can tell if you have a sanctuary in your life. Where do you go to when you need to reconnect? It's not always necessarily meditation, not always yoga, what I've noticed is that the physical act doesn't always seem to matter but what does matter is the mindset you approach it with. When I am feeling particualrly out of whack I can sometimes get a good ten minutes into my workout or music and still feel my mind racing. It is at that point that I start to initiate the daydreams and ideas that always pull me into a space of wonder. I think of creative projects I'd like to try, songs I'd like to write, books I'd like to create, places I'd like to visit. It becomes a whole active space where my imagination can run absolutely wild. My creativity is the door I walk through into my sanctuary. So, if you don't have one what do you think you'd need to do in order to create one? What do you do that leaves you feeling like you've just had the most wonderful hot shower?! If you can't think of anything then it's time to start playing in the Universe to find out.
If you are in any way emotionally or spiritually sensitive you're going to need several open doorways in your life to places of sanctuary. You're going to need as many as you can get your hands on in order to heal, balance and remind you of who you are. That's what these sacred spaces do. They point you back in the direction of your authentic self. With everything that's happening in the world it's so easy to slip these days. We are in transformative times and if we're not careful we can get pulled into the illusion. We can deceive ourselves into believing that the “world has gone mad” or that everything is “hopeless”. Everything is exactly as it should be, it is carefully designed as a platform for you to leap off and create the magic and mystery that you were born to weave. Your power is your own, always has been. Don't forget that. Create places in your life where you remember that you are a Universe born to self actualise for the pure enjoyment of self actualisation. You are wonderful. You are love incarnate. You are beauty in motion. You are beloved. You are lived by life. You are stardust in human shape. Remember. Enjoy. Love.
Thank you,
Big Love,
Ryan James x
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