In researching for an upcoming post on everyone’s favorite bear, Winnie the Pooh, I came across my childhood friend, Tigger.  I am sure it is of no surprise to those that know me or may have had tea with me during our chat In Celebration of Slowness, Tigger was my favorite growing up.  You know how they say that people’s pets resemble them?  Well I have always had wirey and exuberant energy.  It wasn’t until yoga came along that my tiger began it’s journey of being tamed.  Yoga and meditation helped me come back to the breath and the present moment like nothing else. Even though Tigger has an anxious nervous quality to him, he has several important life lessons to teach us. The one lesson that I am working with these days is being fluid.  Tigger never stops.  While that could be seen as representative of our fast paced culture these days, I am seeing it in a different light this morning.  He knows how to be fluid.  He has the ability to move through the world moving in and around things while maintaining a bright positive demeanor.  This my friends, is something we probably all could use a dose of, right?  My career has moved from working the 9-5 full time in the same job for the last decade to working a part time job filled in by a variety of different avenues of work.  Each time an opportunity presents itself my head analyzes it to death and my spirit says “try you, you’ll like it” kinda like Mikey in the Life cereal commercial. My spirit also tells me “if you don’t, you don’t you can do something else.”  These days in order to create a new type of career, something totally authentic and true, I am called to step away from the old structure and move into new uncharted territory.  It is quite unsettling and exciting all at once.  Even chatting with you and beginning a career in being published online is a step away from the old.  For the most part, people who work in psychotherapy are afraid of the internet and it is seen as a no no in the field to put yourself out there in these ways.  But in order to move forward, I know that I have to follow my heart and soul.  Having tea with you all has brought joy to my heart so we continue to meet several times a week to support each other in embracing Tigger’s spirit.

If you follow astrology in the least, you may have heard that 2013 has been the year that old structures have begun to crumble.  The rigid, fixed way in which we have been living has not worked thus far and is beginning to fall away. When discussing this it can bring about a feeling of dread and discussions of the economy.  Recession, lost jobs, very little opportunities are often the topics that come to the surface.  I would say HOGWASH!  While some of this is true, it is also equally true that it is a time for great creativity and growth.  If my old structure did fall away, there would never have been the space and energy to build anew.  As I continue to move more freely and fluidly, I am beginning to notice other old patterns that are in need of being thrown out in the trash as well.  As you begin to shift, you find that old ways of being just don’t work anymore.  Kinda like those old clothes that fit but are just not no longer your style.  You package them up and off to Good Will they go. This too needs to happen in order to continue to make space to stay moving.  Tigger’s spirit can come in handy during this process.  The wonderful thing about tigger is that he’s “the only one.”  While we are similar, we are also very unique.  If we are to build a new structure, different from the old, we need to begin with a foundation of self love and authenticity.  The mind picks up fear, those fear signals travel through to the heart and shut it down. It is like what Benjamin Zander, conductor of Boston Philharmonic, stated in the video I posted with our chat Start Your Day with an A goals take us on a downward spiral but visions spiral us up.  Our vision of a new beginning is exciting, energetic, hopeful. The goals to get there may be that you need to trudge through the muck which can begin to weigh you down.  If you say close enough to your vision, you will be able to bring the exuberant energy of Tigger into your life.  Sometimes the present moment doesn’t neatly and clearly match the vision but if you keep your vision alive in your heart it begins to manifest right before your eyes.

What is the vision that you are looking to manifest?  How might you bring some bouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, FUN into that vision today?  Each small way that we can embody Tigger’s ability to bounce, stay fluid and move with the flow of life, allows us to begin to see our vision manifest in our present day life.  Life does ebb and flow like the ocean. Things come and they go.  There is a portion of this that is mystical and then there is a portion of it that we manifest ourselves.  Should we stay in fear, we are presented with more fearful situations.  Should we choose to embody a new vision full of hope, excitement and love, our dreams become our reality. I always end my yoga classes with inviting my students to be mindful of the energy that they have cultivated in their practice with each other and then taking that energy out into the world and sharing it with all they encounter.  For today, share the excitement of your dreams with those around you:)

Cheers!