S is for September and Slowing Down
Dear Friends,
Happy September! Welcome
to Natural Awakenings Yoga Month
issue. I hope you are enjoying some cooler weather. After August on the Gulf
Coast, cooler will feel amazing!
Today, I was thinking
about you. My top goal with every issue of Natural
Awakenings Gulf Coast is to offer HOPE and HELP. HOPE that there are others
out there just like you, that you are not alone in your struggles and that,
yes, there are workarounds, possibilities, answers and people who care! So, I’m
here to HELP you find those workarounds, possibilities, solutions and people
who care. Just flip a few pages and you will see what I mean.
Natural Awakenings has always been about three things: Education, Connection and Empowerment.
Education leads to informed decisions about holistic healthy living on a
healthy planet. Connection to those locally and nationally that offer holistic
solutions such as healthier foods, activities and therapies that work for you.
Empowerment to use these things for your good because you’ve trusted us for 29
years to provide progressive, healthy and sustainable living practices
throughout the world. The world we live in is complex. Navigating it can be
tough. But if we come together with the best solutions, the best practices, the
best offerings of physical, emotional and spiritual healing we will all win!
As you read our Wise
Words article, Finding Your Calling, Stephen Cope highlights why it is
important to find our calling and how to go about our life’s purpose in the
midst of so many distractions and demands in our life. My take is, it helps to
SLOW DOWN and listen to your inner being, the inner self that has the wisdom of
the ages and is guided by God.
Paraphrasing Cope, slowing
down brings about discernment and focus. The second step is to bring everything you’ve got to whatever you
decide is your calling. Third, let go of the outcome, also known as
relinquishing the fruit. The ancient yogis discovered that if you’re grasping
for a particular outcome, it takes you out of the moment and into some future
fantasized moment. By letting go, you empower yourself to be more present to
the possibilities of the moment. I can get on board with that! The fourth step
is to turn the whole process over to God or to something bigger than just
yourself.
Now we’re talking. This
is where things will really get good. “For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
May God bless you and keep you,
Michelle Smith, Publisher
