The world of the physical and the world of spirits used to be much more connected. Human beings respected the essence and spirit of nature more, and allowed it to serve as a guide on how we can live in harmony. As Pocahontas said, "Every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name". And this is how people used to live. They looked at the sun to tell the time. Now, we just look at our iPhones. So when we hear the concept "spirit guide", we feel so disconnected, because it seems so "out there", because in this age and time that we live in buildings and shop in malls and eat food wrapped in plastic, this is what feels real, and the world of spirits just sounds so outdated. The idea that we have "spirit guides" seems far-fetched.
But spirit guides still surround us, even if it is a little harder to see, and takes a little bit more effort to make the connections. How many of us have been the recipients of kind words and deeds? How many of us have heard the right message at the right time? How many of us have felt this divine joy in the presence of another being we share this Earth with? And so, a yogi living in this contemporary time is challenged to look or listen for that divinity in places we do not expect. We are called to see the spirit of every being whom we encounter, whether in human form or animal form, and whether it is what we resonate with or resist. The yoga asana practice in many ways is a practice of embodying the spirit of nature. In child's pose, we embody the spirit of the humility of a child in receiving love and help and support. In sun salutations, we embody the spirit of the sun in moving seamlessly with grace and confidence. In inversions, we embody the spirit of all of nature in using our intuition over our calculating mind. "Spirit Guide" is the idea of connecting to what we can learn from the spirit or essence of other beings. It is to see this "sameness", the blueprint we all share living on the same planet. Our spirit guides surround us, they teach us and inspire us, challenge us and provoke us, comfort us and uplift us. Ultimately, we are not merely physical beings. We are all spiritual. We embody the "spirit" of all of life, and we are able to connect with each other and with all beings when we acknowledge this.
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