He who burns his bottom must first himself sit on it.

I think we are all quite guilty of suffering some consequences that could have been avoided if only we had been mindful enough to have seen them coming. If we can pause, or tune in or in some way be aware of what the consequences of our actions will be before they are upon us certainly life is easier, healthier and more harmonious. So why oh why don’t we? Because we have not trained ourselves to be ready to pause, to tune in.

Abhyasa is practise, to repeat and repeat and repeat again. It is practise that is aligned with a spiritual goal and the benefit of abhyasa is that it prepares us. I still sometimes wonder at the way in which a stressful situation washes over me. My feeling/experience is definitely more that of a spectator rather than a participant. It washes past me and it is rarely that I feel its wake. This is because of abhyasa.  

When we wait until there is a disturbance in life and then attempt to use the breath to calm ourselves down it does not work unless we have trained our mind, our breath, ourself to deal with stress, or change or dis-ease first. We need to be prepared. In the same way that we avert any bad experience, or lessen the impact of bad experience… such as a picnic by remembering insect repellent, or a hat when going to beach, or a water bottle when going for a bush walk or a warm coat for a winter’s walk. We need to be prepared to avoid or lessen the effects of unpleasant consequences, we need to prepare ourselves to be peaceful.

This is the way to be able to avoid suffering unpleasant consequences, as much as possible. The more we embody calmness, peace, light, understanding and joy we will be carried through our environment and interactions with the world and others around us by their energy. We can’t call upon these beautiful energies and expect for them to come running if we are not first very, very good friends with them. The better we are acquainted with these beautiful energies the faster they can come to our aid. A good friend will come to your aid, to your side, far more quickly than a stranger.

Who are your good friends, who do you spend most of your time with? Is it love, peace and calmness or is it rushing, anger and stress? Whomever you are most acquainted with will come to your aid/side and each create their own consequences. If you are good friends with peace than the consequences of your actions will be peaceful. If you are good friends with stress, than the consequences of your actions will be stressful.

Theresa Daley is a Mindfulness Mentor and Spiritual Counsellor