Do you trust yourself to take your own hand and find the light in the darkness?  I didn't.  For the better part of the last two years, I was the last person who's judgement I trusted.  I looked here and there for advice and methods to get me through the discomfort and self loathing that consumed me.  I was so closed off that I wasn't even conscious of the extreme self loathing, and it came forth in behaviors that I couldn't explain.  

I felt if the tools I possessed worked, I wouldn't find myself in such a place as I was in - mentally, emotionally, and physically.  It seemed if I could find a tried, step by step concrete way, I could do the thing and have the power, as Emerson said.  At the very least, I could fake it until I make it.  I faked the shit out of it while my soul screeched to be heard.

From these two states, two things will happen.  I will become open to the lesson.  The lesson I need to move into the next immediate layer of my personal development.  Or, I will reach my goal.  I will succeed.  

If I go by what Mandela says, I've been learning these last few years.  For a bit, I was sad about wasted time and energy.  My negative self talk overtook dealing with the realization that I had been filling holes with elements that were not my own in avoidance of accepting that I already possessed what I needed.  This avoidance created the necessity of the lesson that scrambling for answers provided.  I felt empty and scared, looking for validation.  To acknowledge that I had the answers was a huge responsibility.  First, it was the fact that it was time to apply what I know and to do so with a different sort of discipline than I was using to keep digging.  Then, there was my identity.  My entire egoic identity has been aligned to needing to pursue healing and truth.  Who am I when I start applying it and it works?  What do I become then?  Our egos, always in search of homeostasis, hate the unknown.  It can be a scary place.  Will I even like that version of myself?

I did not believe in my ability to be my own best teacher.  It felt like if I was, I'd have already drawn the conclusions I needed to be in a better state of being.  My self worth has been so low that I based every accomplishment upon whether or not someone else authenticated it for me.  What I felt about it was pushed aside until someone could say "good job".  I didn't matter to myself.  It was only what I could prove myself to be to others.  And, the part of this acknowledgment that remains a current struggle is, what does it matter how good I feel I've done, am, or worthy of receiving, if I am experiencing it alone?  Obviously, the seeds for understanding the concept have been planted.  I haven't found the Miracle Grow.  Right now, all the being with myself is feeling boring because I have experienced loneliness my entire life.  The thing is... being lonely, being alone, and being with yourself are three different things.  They can exist separately.  I have never been comfortable being with myself.

I am feeling able to release the guilt I have felt letting go of these prescriptive methods/practices that did not flow for me, and at times felt negating to the truths that were intimate with me.  I have not failed.  I am learning a more meaningful way to view spiritual practice.  I am discovering and honoring the processes that have worked for me for a long time.  I am giving credence to the fact that instead of labeling my practice as "not enough," I need to be willing to take my practice deeper, especially if it has supported me.  I should trust my knowingness to be the proof that I need.  My connection and true passion for a practice is all I need.  I don't require a more financially secure and public person's backing to prove to me that their way is the way, unless I want to duplicate them.  To be them.

We've all heard it said that there is nothing new under the sun.  If truth is truth, then this statement without a doubt is true.  In that sense, no understanding of truth is original understanding.  None of us are unique in the ability to comprehend and obtain truth.  Our individuality comes in our expression of our understanding of truth. 

explore these truths to the highest levels possible for them in this life.  As memes have made certain ideas cliche, I point out yet another that is meaningful.  You can only lead another as far as you have led yourself.

As someone on a spiritual or yogic path, don't glue yourself to one teacher even if your goal is to master a certain branch of yoga, or type of spiritual practice.  Be present with multiple teachers so that ultimately, the exploration is your own unclouded by dogma and strong opinions.  You are your best teacher.  Anyone, any text, or any experience contributing to your learning them becomes a resource.  The only way to true understanding is the journey through yourself.  Otherwise, you're repeating a script and keeping your contribution to truth small if not hidden all together -- from yourself and the world.

I am not small.  You are not small.  We are manifestations of supreme energy with the free will to be the conductors of it.  Our ability to tap into truth comes with trusting ourselves to know it without external validation.  We must see our own capacities and accept responsibility for ourselves.

I am not chasing any more programs that box me in to rote expression.  The only practices I need are tools that help me access my own creativity and capability to live and share truth as I understand it.  There are many teachers.  There is only one set of truths, simple and Divine.

My baby sister stood in a glass box the size of a long gone, street side phone booth.  She was seven years old.  We were visiting the mall in the city where my grandparents had relocated - Spartanburg, South Carolina.  She had been chosen from a crowd of people that had gathered around the booth in curiosity.  I don't know if they thought they were being clever choosing a young kid for the show.  If they did, they had never encountered a kid like my sister.

She wore a mix of fear and excitement on her face.  They closed and sealed the door to the box.  As soon as it was secured, they turned on a blower that shot a high force of air up from the bottom of the box.  Her hair blew.  Then, they released the cash.  A combination of bills, mostly ones, blew all around her.  The timer began.  She had thirty seconds to grab all she could hold and stuff into her clothes.  If she was lucky, she'd snag the hundred dollar bill.

She reached and grabbed faster than I had ever seen her little, chunky kid body move.  Most of the bills flew out of her reach, but she didn't focus on what she couldn't get.  She kept all the effort close.  She clutched and snatched the money like all our lives depended on it.  I can't remember how much she had when she left the box.  I just remember how impressed everyone was with the amount.  They said, "She might as well have grabbed that Benjamin!" 

Everything that required and effort or attempt from me received 100%.  100% of frantic, desperate, overly zealous, hurried, raging fire me until I burned out.  I felt the need to seize every opportunity that I felt confident I could use to achieve.  It didn't matter what I was achieving, as long as people would think it was good.  I'd give it my best regardless of whether or not it spoke to my heart or fed my soul.  I'd do it simply because I could.

the outside world who could make it happen for her?  After many rejection letters for my short stories, I had to give my time more to making a real living and raising kids.

To land yourself in handstand there are variables that must have your attention.  If any one component is off or unrecognized, you find yourself using a lot of energy without ever holding your body upside down.  At worst, you'll fall feet over head on your ass.  Every time I had randomly attempted handstand, I did so wishing that my brute strength would see me through and something would click.  Like training wheels on a bike, I was too ornery to use a wall.  I've fallen many times flat on my back, even the side of my face.  It was as if in every approach I was setting out to prove myself right.  Handstands were not possible for me, therefore I could justify it as not being part of my practice no matter how far I advanced my physical abilities.  It was like my dream of being a writer.  I was unlikely to score through serendipity.  My effort needed to be toward achievable goals.

It turns out that handstanding can be learned through a variety of clear methods.  Step by step.  Body awareness.  Fun daily practice.  I'm learning to be an upside down tree.  Rooting into the ability to trust and believe in the unseen.  Proprioception.  Tangibly dreaming that in my middle age, I too will float and fly.

Everything I've done, I've relied on my intellect and a force of effort to see me achieve.  Because of that, I have kept goals smaller than the dreams of my heart, focusing on the obstacles and practicalities of life instead of potential for finding my purpose.  We're now living in an era where it could be easier than ever before to find yourself making a livable wage as a writer and speaker on topics of personal growth and spiritual awakening.  Many times I tried, taking the risk only when I was sure I could recoup from the pain of the fall.  Taking the similar more pragmatic offers, always getting me close, but never the cigar.  There is a way.  A plan.  A means to see my dreams alive under my hands and in the sound of my voice speaking to curious hearts.

I stand feet together, hands shoulder width apart on my mat, and wrists in one line.  I draw my navel in and up, lift my pelvic floor, and tuck in my lower ribs.  I lock out my elbows and lift through my chest.  From flat feet, I bend both knees, and spring with control off both feet.  I push the ground away with my hand.  I tuck up and find my big toes against the wall.  I point my toes, press my ankles together, and squeeze my butt.  I check core engagement.  Arms straight.  Eyes focused on the mat between my thumbs.  All this I have practiced also laying down.  One step at a time.  Daily practice until I am practicing in the center of the room.