I recently met with my beloved friend and collaborator, Matece, to continue planning our next trip to Bali. Just thinking about the beautiful Balinese culture nourishes and inspires me deeply.
As a college student at Indiana University 20+ years ago, utterly mesmerized with studying various spiritual traditions around the world, I remember taking a class about the Balinese and the ways they aimed to lived in harmonious relationships with the divine, one another, and the Earth. It’s called “Tri Hita Karana.”
One daily ritual they do to maintain this harmony touched my heart so deeply the moment I learned about it, and my admiration for this practice has never left.
Every morning, the Balinese create these beautiful prayer offerings called “canang sari.”
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Many of these palm-leaf baskets contain flowers, rice, incense, and other symbolic items and are offerings of gratitude and blessings.
They place them in their homes, temples, cars, workplaces, gas stations, banks, shops, and in most every location.
However, they *also* line the streets and doorways with these offerings to acknowledge the “negative spirits” of the lower world.
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There is something so profound to me about this.
Rather than denying, clinging to, or fighting with the inevitable challenges of this life or giving their power to what may otherwise scare or disturb them…
…they instead use their spiritual practice to help them keep their power (rooted in love), to maintain their open hearts, and to let the light of who they truly are grow even bigger, deeper, and stronger.
They grow the good…
…and greater inner peace and harmony follows.
How can you practice this in your own everyday life?
Here is one simple way to try right now…
1. Notice what in your life you are resisting in any way.
2. Identify the constriction in your physical body.
For example, perhaps it is a tightness in your chest or heaviness in your belly. There is no wrong answer.
Rather than resisting the resistance or constricting around the constriction, simply notice it, without any judgment whatsoever.
3. Allow your breath to expand the space around the resistance.
Place your hands on your heart (optional), simply take some slow, luxurious breaths, and expand the space around the constriction.
Most often, what you will find is that, rather than it fighting back, the area will begin to soften, loosen its grip, and be more likely to release.
4. Make an offering of love and compassion to whatever is there.
Continue to allow your breath to expand the space around the constriction.
Then, invite, love, compassion, peace, and whatever feels most nourishing to fill the opening you’ve created.
Turn up the volume of all the things you want to embody and feel, and let it fill and envelop whatever else may be there.
I love to say…
“Whatever it is, love can always get bigger.”
Sending so many blessings and hugs to your own dear heart, whatever it is holding right now,
