Embodying our divine light is not reserved for the elites only, but it’s in the ancestral lineage and DNA for us all. We are made of stars after all. However, in the modern fragmented lifestyle, with our attention being pulled in hundreds of different directions, we often feel anxious, distracted, exhausted or powerless. Integrating our Spirit into our daily living becomes more important than ever. Below are three mindful ways to re-establish our connection with the divine. No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, they can provide you with practical guidance and fresh insights to light up your cosmic fire.
You have probably heard that we all have rational intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ). Do you know that we have spiritual intelligence (SQ) as well? In order to fulfill our destiny and return to wholeness, we must let our SQ take the lead, with support from our IQ and EQ.
While AI might perform rational reasoning better than us, and our emotions could be unpredictable and fragile at times; our Spirit is always our best guidance and safety net.
Deep in our bones, we know that we have always been connected with the cosmos in an intimate way. When the entire universe began with the big bang, the first starlight exploded. It then evolved and provided the exact ingredients that eventually became the elements of the world we live in now.
We are made of stars. This is in our ancestral lineage and DNA.
According to Daoist tradition, when the essences of the parents unite at the moment of conception, the star seeds of the divine light are scooped up in the ladle of the Big Dipper and poured down into the embryo.
Our Spirit, in its purest form, is this golden light that grows within us.
Although, as an abstract concept, “Spirit” or divine light is something indescribable, many of us do feel our Spirit and soulful presence during meditations and/or mindful practices.
When our Spirit resides in us, we are illuminated by our divine light. Joy, love, delight, wonder, enchantment, inspiration, enthusiam…these are the familiar states reflecting and expressing our fiery Spirit inside.
Integrating our Spirit into our daily living is constructive and life-enhancing. It is an act of assurance and kindness – towards ourselves and each other.
From beginners who might doubt their commitment and associate spirituality as something “too boring”, “too woo-woo” or “lotus position only” to advanced devotees who face more nuanced life lessons, including “staleness” in their spiritual development, we all can benefit more from the medicine of mindfulness.
The key is not to over complicate the matter or let your self-doubt take over. Instead, always give yourself more encouragement and allow curiosity to lead you into the rich flow of calm and spontaneity.
In this article, I’ll share these three simple and practical tools to reconnect with our Spirit and divine light. No matter where you are in mindfulness practice, they are suitable for all levels and are beginner-friendly.
If you are experienced in this topic, feel free to go all the way with the following practices, deepening your understanding for your Spirit and divine light, which can enhance and revive your love for embodiment.
If you are new, be gentle with yourself. For instance, once you reach a point that resonates with you, you can stay there for awhile, then build up gradually to allow these practices to become part of you.
You don’t need to travel afar attending retreats or worry about downloading apps, you can simply find somewhere that makes you feel accepted and comfortable, sit or lie down, pause and breathe.
Just show up – your presence is more than enough.
PRACTICE 1: BREATHE
{The 2020 pandemic has made many of us realise that we might have taken breathing for granted. For those whose family or friends have suffered, my heart goes out to you. May strength and healing light reach us all.}
Newborns do not think yet, but they know how to use their belly to breathe fully.
Over time, sadly, we have left this wonderful natural instinct behind. With modern day busyness and distractions, our breathing patterns are restricted.
Many of us have become chest breathers, or hold our breath altogether, especially when we are in a hurry or feel anxious. And we might not even be aware of this habit.
However, long-term shallow breathing can cause many psychological and physical pains.
It reduces the oxygen reaching our brain.
It creates tension in our shoulder, neck and chest, and decreases the full capacity of our lung.
It releases unnecessary adrenaline and cortisol which raise our heart and respiratory rates. Therefore, we waste our precious energy to fight a perceived threat that may not even exist.
Back in my corporate days, work being stressful was an understatement. I was constantly running around, chasing deadlines and in particular depleted by the “no leaving your desk for lunch” office culture.
Such an environment reinforced in us a feeling that “I have no time at all”, which pushed us to run ever faster and become even more overwhelmed.
However, one day as I was close to developing a panic attack, my body instinctively taught me to pause everything else and just simply breathe.
As I took a moment away from my screen, finally I noticed how tired, stiff, cold, hungry, thirsty and lost I had been.
I knew that my priorities must be re-assessed. I no longer wanted to numb my days out, nor did I want to hold conversations with family and friends only half-listening.
My commitment of not living on autopilot started with ignoring the no-lunch culture. I decided to always cultivate some time to visit a local park and enjoy my lunch there.
No matter how little time I seemed to have, I’d always take a moment and breathe properly in my own sanctuary.
I’ve carried on with mindfulness for more than a decade now, and have seen great benefits from it: better self-awareness, higher creativity and productivity, feeling more connected with the community, and improved energy levels and wellbeing overall.
Breathing is the cornerstone of mindfulness. From seated meditation to mindful movement, it does not matter which tradition we are following, we are all encouraged to start with being aware of our own breaths.
This is because breathing is the key to fine-tuning our energy and quickly create clarity by letting go of ruminating thoughts.
Breathing – a simple and rooting form of meditation provides us a window to have a relationship with our own Self.
Instead of losing ourselves in the constant traffic of thoughts that consume our waking hours, breathing helps to stretch time so that we can find the gentle and restful space in between.
For example, if right now you are worrying about how you are going to finish that client deliverable and how much you are already falling behind, how many errands are waiting to be done, what needs to be cooked for dinner later, and that your work performance last week could have been so much better… stressing about various things simultaneously can lead you to feel that you cannot accomplish anything at all or that even if you do, the journey is not joyous.
Instead, give your hijacked mind a much required break.
Take a few deep breaths first.
Use your belly to inhale naturally; when you breathe in, picture yourself in a calm and relaxed state, you are focusing on one thing at a time with willingness, orders are established, step by step, all things are fulfilled accordingly.
When you breathe out, imagine all the anxiety or worry getting sucked into the middle of the Earth.
Repeat this 5 – 10 times, you might be surprised to find yourself entering into a relatively illuminated state of being and enjoying those activities which could have overwhelmed you otherwise.
Breathing in, I smile
THICH NHAT HANH
Breathing out, I let go
Breathing in, I smile to my body
Breathing out, I calm my body
Breathing in, I smile to my feelings
Breathing out, I calm my feelings
Smiling, releasing.
It takes only a few minutes of mindful breathing every day to start re-wiring our brains.
Through the exchange of breathing in and out, we switch off the fight-or-flight mode. Our heartbeat slows down and blood pressure stabilises. Our body and mind are no longer locked into the self imposed stressful mode.
Via focused deep breaths, we can immediately reconnect with our Spirit, the source and universal wisdom, giving us a glimpse of embodiment of wholeness and divinity.
Once you consciously feel your own breath, try the next mindful practice:
PRACTICE 2: NOTICE AND APPRECIATE THIS MOMENT
Yes, such as right now.
Every moment in life only happens once. We can savour each precious moment, or let it pass us by.
It will take us a long time to get to where we want to be unless we start to enjoy or even just appreciate where we are right now.
Time is a great illusion. What is the past? It is a collection of memories you experience. What is the future? It is the potential you are anticipating and projecting. You can only experience the past and future at this moment, now.
You probably have heard this quote many times: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present.”
It’s a great quote and beautiful wisdom; however, ironically, we are not designed this way—as a civilization, we are masters of grieving about the past and worrying about future.
Whenever we are angry, sad or resentful, chances are some past events are still lingering along that stop us from noticing this moment.
Similarly, whenever we are anxious, fearful or afraid, we are probably lost in the uncertainty of the future, instead of making the most of the present.
As a result, we lose our very own presence.
I’ll never forget that day during my Five Element Acupuncture training, when we spoke with patients from all walks of life, who, understandably, were burdened by or anxious about various things.
Following the training guidance, whenever us the practitioners brought the patients back to the moment, we’d gently ask “I don’t mean to discount all the problems you were talking about, but if we just focus on this moment. How are you now? How are you feeling in yourself?”
After long pauses, brief confusions or some overdue cry with relief, most definitely, the answer was: “Surprisingly, now I am OK.”
This has made a big impression on me.
Right now, in this moment, we are OK.
This realisation has helped me during some small, personal and a little dramatic moments such as when I am worrying about meeting a tight deadline, agonising over something that I have no control over, or too much dwelling into the past…as well as facing some worldly, universal, and unprecedented times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are OK, in this moment, right now.
In the face of overwhelming odds, we can choose to be one with this moment.
Although this kind of realisation does not erase our problems like a magic wand, it does bring us straight back to our centre.
Do you know that the lifespan of an unpleasant emotion – fear, trepidation, shame – whatever that is – is only 90 seconds?
However, here is the catch, if we feed and engage with that emotion, or try to suppress or judge it, it will stay in our psyche.
If we simply observe the emotion without judgement, it will rise, then fall and eventually pass (shortly), just like how seasons turn and tides change naturally.
This is to say, everyday we are given thousands of opportunities to press the reset button. Even if an old, outworn, negative pattern bothers us, we can interfere and transform it into something more inspiring by being as present as possible.
With this in mind, take some deep breaths and check in with yourself: “How present am I now?”
If your mind is still drifting away, or you struggle to snap back to the present moment, you can place your attention on your surroundings. Simply name the things you can see right now.
Name what you can see right in front of you, out loud.
Feel your feet on the ground, acknowledge and appreciate the air you are breathing, notice any sensations in your body.
As we are shifting attention from our passing thoughts back to our body – our earthly home, we create room for our Spirit to reside. Our divine light can come in and shine and sweep away any unnecessary disturbance or intrusion.
Our previous stagnant and stale energy/Chi/Qi will then get moving again. We will feel refreshed and rejuvunated.
If you’ve done some combat sports before, you’ll know this feeling: you drop all sorts of distractions and come totally alive. You have to – because if you don’t, you will be beaten.
And the simple exercise above is like giving ourselves this type of mental strength and spiritual training without having an opponent.
As soon as we get back into our body and switch on our senses to see, smell, hear, feel, and touch our surroundings, we are becoming fully aware, alert and attuned. Only then will we be truly settled – we can therefore think more clearly, function better, digest properly, nervous system being calm…In short, we’ll be effective.
Now, as you are feeling more in-tune and grounded in your own being, name what you love and/or grateful for at this moment.
Name what you love & are grateful for at this moment, out loud.
This will help to raise your vibration, which is a solid foundation for the next practice below.
PRACTICE 3. HEART & HEAD ALIGNMENT: BE A TRUTH TELLER
Once your vibration is clear and high, you are welcome to try this Head & Heart Alignment.
While our head or intellect acquires knowledge and follows a linear, analytical pattern, our heart has the direct connection with the divine, it follows a more complex, multi-dimensional logic.
Our divine light resides in the empty space in our heart, though invisible, it is reflected as brightness and lustre in our eyes.
Zhuang Zi, the great early Daoist sage, describes our heart as the reflecting pool. When this pool is calm and still, it is the mirror of heaven. The heart reflects our truth, beauty and intrinsic order of the cosmos – our divine home.
The natural, unpolluted state of our heart is calm, simple and wise. It is giving, courageous, and of service to the wider community and the world.
When our heart and head are aligned, we are potent. We feel authentic and free. Otherwise, when they are in conflict, we feel confused, frustrated or weighed down.
We live in a world where sometimes our heart bears burdens and takes assaults from all angles.
When our heart is disturbed, it shows. And here are some signs:
- the light in our eyes is dim;
- we are seduced by excessive desires;
- making real, lasting connections seems to be hard;
- our mind is not at ease and it goes wild with many incongruent notions and thoughts;
- we feel that we’ve lost our “dance”;
- nightmares and sleep disorders are also common.
Living a heart-based life, we must firstly tend to our heart, allow our heart to speak, listen to its wisdom, and then train our intellectual mind to be receptive and supportive.
Although many of us may ignore or suppress the quiet voice from our heart, those little nudges will never go away.
Due to our dominant culture, many head-strong people are very good at pretending the calling of the heart is not there. Yet in 5, 10 or even 20 years, when the buried dream suddenly taps their shoulder, they are weighed down by confusion and regrets. Or they are stirred up and can drop everything that they’ve worked hard to build on just to fulfill the lost dream.
Whenever we feel stuck or overwhelmed, chances are our heart has lost its sovereign place or that our head is in conflict with our heart.
And to turn the situation around, we must pay attention to our heart, and re-align our head to our heart.
Grab a pen and some paper, find a quiet place on your own, close the door and remove any outside distractions.
Take a few deep breaths, tune in to the moment of now, and put your non-dominant hand on your heart, ask yourself the following questions, then use your dominant hand to write down the answers.
My heart is telling me this:
[_________________________________]
Then ask yourself if this is true at all. Whatever comes up, don’t judge it.
Remember to keep breathing while connecting with your heart.
By giving space and attention to your precious heart, writing down what it is telling you, you are giving your heart the unconditional love that it deserves.
If you feel that your heart is dull or numb, or you cannot get any straight answer out of it immediately, please know that the heart responds well to insights, laughter and unconditional love. It wants to be recognised, to be seen and witnessed by the divine light of another kindred spirit. Simple things such as watching something fun, talking with a trusted friend, exchanging some genuine notes with a loved one, or appreciating some great art and literature…all can help you open your heart. Be patient, it might take you a few goes, that’s all OK.
Then ask your head, my head says:
[_________________________________]
&
In order to follow my heart and get unstuck, I need to tell my head
[_________________________________]
What comes out in your writing should make you feel expansive, centred and liberated, almost like you’re saying ”phew…”. (eg, to relax? to stop over-complicating things? to trust myself?…)
As human beings, we’ve done very well in terms of intellectual pursuits, which have provided a lot of comfort and convenience.
However, if we take a similar approach when it comes to nourishing our Soul, feeding our Spirit, decoding our heart or embodying our divine light: ie, making it extremely complicated, we are missing out on the magic of our heart.
The magic of our heart comes from its simplicity.
That’s how you know it is your heart that is speaking: your heart can only tell the truth, and the truth does not have too much fluff.
“Ok, My heart likes the answer I just wrote, but my head resists it, what should I do?” You might question.
Outworn, negative, destructive patterns of thinking exist because they are the routes often travelled in the mind, therefore become the temporary default.
However, according to neuroscience, our mind is far from being a fixed organ and is evolving and adapting all the time. Our mind, though it can fight against our heart’s calling, is brilliant at acquiring new information.
After a few attempts at listening to your heart, your mind will start to change and become more open and adaptable, instead of resisting or dismissing your heart’s desire, it will gradually respect it, honour it and find ways to support it.
With patience, dedication and practice, we can absolutely create new pathways for our brain to learn and develop a new default – the one that is calmer, more soulful and mindful.
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Many of us envision that we will get to our Spirit, once we reach the end of our never-ending to-do list. Don’t let that mindset fool us, instead, embody our Spirit, bring our divine light – our cosmic fire into our daily living, now.
And watch the subtle, powerful differences it can bring.
If you like the above practices, feel free to show up again tomorrow, and the day after, and so on…
Use them as much as you need until they become your second nature. If you wish, they can be your best friends when you feel overwhelmed or lost. Bit by bit, you might be surprised by what you are capable of.
We are children of the Universe.
Following our divine light, life takes on its authentic ambition, direction and purpose, while firmly grounded in its organic rhythm, depth and integrity.
We pulse as stars shine. We evolve as the seasons change.
We breathe in and out like the day and the night.
With our heart being serene, open and accepting, we are coming back to our true nature.
With love,
Yiye Zhang 章一叶
ps, feel free to let me know how you are getting on!
Thank you Yiye, your wise words and beautiful energy ignited the divine light in me!
How wonderful to hear that you are connecting with your divine light! Thanks Zoey <3
Thank you for this practice. It has given more tools to get unstuck. I have been doing the work for many years, and your perspective on spirituality has opened my heart even more.
Thanks for connecting! So happy to hear that it resonated with your heart 💛 And kudos to your long-term dedication💐
Beautiful! Thank you so much Yiye for this wonderful post.
We have been through some strange times recently and it is easy to forget that we are made of stars!
These exercises are lovely and help us to remember our true nature.
Thank you.
Thanks for your kind words Amanda! This year has been so tricky for many of us. So glad this post served as a reminder for you 💛