Above is the picture depicting the Manipura Chakra, which is the energetic vortex, or wheel(chakra), for actions, courage, will power, and autonomy. It lives physically at the area of our solar plexus, above the navel. Its name means ‘lustrous gem’. Its all about our vitality. Courage to take action can come from here. It’s why I chose this picture for this subject matter on decision making.
As last week we were focused on surrender in our practices, especially in the letting go purpose of surrender, I began to get curious around when we should act?! How does One make decisions? From what place do we make decisions? If, in surrendering our egos, as Emma-Louise Newlyn goes on to write, “is very closely related to the concept of letting go of the fruits of our actions and non-attachment…the practice of surrendering requires us to acknowledge that we can do our very best in each situation but we can’t really do any more than that; realizing this essentially allows us to fully engage and be present in what we are doing, bringing all our energy to that moment and experiencing it fully as it is-what happens after, happens after.”
So, then, how can we make sure we ARE ‘doing our very best’ in each moment and continually working towards being our very best? For me, this seemed tied to how we make choices, how we make decisions. From those choices that we make daily, like what to eat for breakfast, to those big hitting choices of whether we should move out of state, for example, or leave a relationship, or stay at a job. So, I did a little research into how people make decisions. Let me tell you! There is A LOT of information out there! There are books on how to make better decisions too! So, I am going to give you a few places from which decisions can be made, but then I am going to tell you the common denominator that was threaded thru them all.
The first thing that came to me around decisions was the time I needed to decide to move from an apartment I was renting. It wasn’t a questions of if I needed to move, it was a question of where to? I had an apartment I found that I loved, but the roommates in it were giving mixed signals. I wanted to be there. It was my father who said, “do you want to force the decision, or let God show you the way?” I decided from a place of letting Universe carry me, a place of surrender, haha. And, I am glad I DID! I found a better home that had an amazing woman in it, who would go on to be one of my bridesmaids in my wedding, and I at her wedding!
Another place to make decisions from is, of course, your heart! A dear teacher of mine would always say, and I am paraphrasing, “Perhaps the questions is not what is the right choice, but what is the loving choice”. I LOVE this. Sometimes we know our choices that we are making are not going to be liked by others. For me, that is hard because I want everyone to like me(it ain’t gonna happen, let it go). However, one of the hardest decisions in my life came from a place of heart, even though it did hurt someone; it came from a place of love for me, and love for them. “What happens after, happens after.” Stay present, breathe, and know you’re doing your very best in this moment.
Sometimes we have no idea what to do. Maybe you’re living in the mystery right now, and don’t know which way to turn. Perhaps you see a path you wish to take, but don’t know the first step to create the movement forward. Pause here, one of those Sacred Pauses, where you listen to intuition. Feel what your gut is telling you, knock on your hearts door, and observe any messages from Source/Universe/God/Energy/
Here are two more little quotes I heard on this subject of making decisions. I heard them from listening to others, so I do not know the original authors of the actual words:
“Know history, know self.”(My husband told me this one.)
And,
“People don’t decide their futures, they decide their habits, and their habits decide their futures.”(From Australian researchers on the topic of creating habits.)
Now, in order to know our history, we have to take a moment to look back and observe. And, in order to know our habits we must become aware of what we are doing. Ah ha, yup, are you guessing the common denominator yet? In order to hear our hearts, what must we do? In order to read our intuition, what must we do?
We must bring our consciousness into the present moment and observe! That’s the common denominator I discovered. Do you agree? Let me know.
Oh, and if you want to, Google ‘choice theory’. Just another thing I came across.
Your mission, should you choose(lol!) to accept it, is to try to stay present enough to always be doing your very best this week. What happens after, happens after. Namaste!