Live your life attuned with guidance: pursuit of Swadharma

Probably you have heard the term ‘dharma’ before. And doing what you really love to do ... that's probably also something you've been thinking about already. But how do you figure out what exactly is your dharma? And more importantly, how are you going to live it? And if you face any setbacks and contrast, does that mean that you did something wrong or are these situations worthwhile and can you use them? Read more in this yoga blog about living your life attuned with guidance.

Live your life attuned with guidance: pursuit of Swadharma

If we learn yoga postures, we often focus at creating shapes at first. Further on in our yoga journey, we learn to feel the yoga poses. As if you are the yoga posture. Whereby you feel how everything in your body works together very precisely: as clock cogs. At that moment, something just clicks, everything comes together and you feel one with the universe. As if you remember the yoga posture from some kind of higher/inner knowledge. From surrender; surrendering to something greater that is guiding you.

Dharma

We can experience this feeling everywhere in our lives if we live our dharma, or to be more precisely our swadharma. Serving the world in a way that fulfills our destiny. Where giving and receiving are one.

Only, we are not always aware what our swadharma is yet. And often, when we think we have found our swadharma, it showed to be a paradharma in the end: something whereof we thought it was our dharma, but at one point contrast in life suggest us to choose another path.

If we have chosen pursuing a paradharma a couple of times, it might also trigger to feel uncertain about believing in our dharma. Because, what if the thing whereof we are now sure that it is our swadharma, proves to be a paradharma again in the future? Which is a possibility that the ego doesn’t like at all…. And since we usually don’t get to know what life will bring us in five years, that could happen.

Is this my swadharma or is it again a paradharma?

Although these kinds of question kept my mind busy in the past, I now realize that it actually doesn’t really matter if it might prove to be a paradharma in the future. That the only thing that does matter is that our actions are attuned with universal guidance and that we thereby go all-in, as if you were sure that it was your swadharma.

Because those experiences are there to experience. For me, looking back I learned some essential things on the way that made the switch to living my (now assumed) swadharma more accessible. Sometimes because of learning practical things on the way. Sometimes by learning what my heart & soul don’t want. Sometimes because it helped me to dare to take the next step. And imagine that you would already have known that what you're going to do now is "only" a paradharma, could you than go all-in? Or would you than refrain? Which would affect your experience and how it could help you (in the future) to serve.

Live your life with guidance

What works for me is, without wondering to much is it’s really my swadharma, is living my life with guidance in performing the small things. Every day, I therefore take time to connect with my higher self, my inner guidance. To let my intuition guide me and to feel (like in the yoga postures) what is the next step to make.

Previously, I was than afraid that I wouldn’t be able to finish my to-do list this way. In reality, I am still acting on the things that have to happen during the day, but then with a feeling of way more of space, freedom, joy and flow. And sometimes it also corrects me in my view on what is truly important. Sometimes, my mind values something as really important, and it actual isn’t at all… shown by life when it wasn’t included in my attuned actions.

If it’s not clear to me what I am supposed to do (or not understand how to), I ask questions to the universe/god/… or however you name it. Usually by writing in my journal. Most of the time, this gives me the insights I am looking for. If I still don’t feel connected with this divine knowledge, I will write my questions with the hand I usually write with, while writing the answers with my other hand. For me, that is difficult enough to ensure that my ego won’t interfere anymore in the process.

Of course, practicing yoga postures (asana), breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation (dhyana) also helps very well. In fact, I assume that it is because of my yoga practice that the answers usually come up when writing in my journal that easily. This can be explained by that the energy will move better in the center channel of your spine and in your chakras by practicing asana. Also it helps, just like breathing exercises and meditation, to be able to turn inwards, which also helps to connect to your inner guidance.

And then…. life kicks in

Sometimes, unconsciously I let myself be distracted from connecting with this guidance by my higher self. Especially when it comes to activities that were quite normal in my life previously. As if I forgot my new insights for a moment. Or that I am maybe not yet completely comfortable with my soul-desires; that there is still some work to do with regard to really accepting myself.

I experienced this myself lately during a vacation. I tried to find compromises based on that others than wouldn’t have to adjust that much to me. But I thereby denied a part of myself. And also didn’t express that others also can truly be who they are (and that is something I don’t want for sure). I also denied myself to experience and share more joy.

The beauty of such situations is that your feelings about what your heart desires than become stronger, which is something to be very grateful for. The contrast showed me again that I really love to spend my days doing yoga, writing, being out in nature and eating food full of prana life force. And it's not a vacation for me to fill my days differently. That there still is some acceptance work to do for myself in that area. That it is already challenging enough to be myself. But also to feel that although I might desire different things than others, from the inside we are all the same love and light. That we are as one altogether, whereby we all have our own unique way to contribute. And maybe that being a little bit weird is actually more normal than being ‘normal’.

Can you look from a different perspective to difficult situations that show you your contrast? Can you, by experiencing the contrast, feel more clearly what you truly want? And can you transform this feedback of the universe to choose for your heart- and soul desires?

For myself, it works because I am than temporarily confronted with a decrease in my frequency and then feel even stronger that a compromise is just not enough. That I aim for living attuned and win-win situations for everybody. Contrast shows me again and again that although living attuned and choosing for light might ask for some discipline and courage to be ‘different’, it is still so much easier than choosing to stay in contrast. Actually, what it takes is comparable with practicing yoga postures. Honestly, all of us also sometimes just don’t feel like it to practice. But when we choose to practice anyway, working within the possibilities of that day (without forcing), we do feel better afterwards. Also here, giving your effort is not always easy, but it is still easier than dealing with the consequences of not giving your best effort.

Habits^© to life your live attuned with guidance:

• Each morning, take a moment to attune to your inner guidance
• Create more and more opportunities within your day to re-attune. Especially if you experience contrast.
• Discover what works best for you to connect with your higher self. For many people it helps to practice yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation, being in nature and to journal.
• A great exercise is to write down for yourself about what you think your true dharma is (swadharma) and which paradharmas you have found on your way. If you don’t have any clue what your swadharma is, you can also journal about what has brought you to your yoga practice. Often this gives you also lots of insights about your process.

Enjoy your Habits^© today!

Aimée Kuntz
    

Outfit: yoga leggings and yoga bra top

Outfit that Aimée is wearing in the photo and videos: Teeki Love the Elephant Legging en een LaLa Top by LaLa Land.

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