What did Harriet Tubman, Mahatma Gandhi, & Martin Luther King Jr. have in common? And what does that have to do with you? In this blog, you will be inspired by these three luminaries to pursue your best life now. After you read the main section, engage the worksheet questions and, if you want to go further, take a step in that direction. Harriet Tubman, Mahatma Gandhi, and MLK were engaged in the fight for freedom. They cared deeply for others. And they were willing to do whatever it took to stay the course and go the length. They had courage and determination and could keep their faith despite the odds. Throughout their mission, they maintained an authentic connection to a higher power. And then there is this: these extraordinary human beings believed and remained committed to their cause with no clear evidence that they would succeed in their mission. Nevertheless, they succeeded in liberating millions from tyranny and oppression. This quality, among a few others, can inspire us in our mission to heal, which is also a form of freedom. What I admire most about Tubman, Gandhi, and MLK, especially from the point of view of being a health and wellness coach, is their consistency in expressing their power of choice. They consistently chose courage over fear, confidence over skepticism, and faith over doubt, even when dark shadows were long and, at times, relentless. I consider all three Mahatmas, the great-souled one in Sanskrit, derived from maha (great) and atma (soul). And their invitation to us is to step up to the plate and grow our souls beyond the limits we've imposed upon them or the limits we've been conditioned by. For some of us, this may be trauma, myself included. For some, the circumstances of our life. No matter what has transpired in our past, we must heal in the present to create a better future for ourselves. In this context, the Buddha has incisive wisdom when he advises us to focus on the wound and its healing. The arrow's direction, who shot it, or what the arrow is made of is not as important. You and I can learn to cultivate courage, confidence, and faith in the face of whatever the odds. Our mission may not be as majestic as our Mahatmas and, initially, may not be about society. However, we can still make it about others, and the desire to create a better world, even if that world begins with our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. When we engage in the healing process, we also draw people close to us into that process. Healing can be associated with freedom because integral to the healing process is freeing ourselves from the soul-sapping clutches of worry, anxiety, and analysis paralysis. These sappers drain us mentally, creating emotional distress and imbalance and often leading to disease or fortifying chronic pain. Sadly, most of us accept these devitalizing conditions as the norm of life. And we seek respite for an hour or two a day by trying to meditate, watch adrenaline-pumping ( stress hormone) mind-numbing TV, or mechanically scroll through social media. In other words, being attached to our mobiles or electronic devices, if not 24/7, for most of our waking hours. It is safe to say our digital devices and mobiles are our present-day pacifiers for children and grownups alike! You might say, hang on a minute: what about all the advantages of our digital age? You are indeed correct. There are values to the internet and the various technologies we use today. However, it is not their intrinsic value that is the problem; it is how we use them when maladaptive behaviors persist in the background. Or when they help us procrastinate the deep work of healing, we must engage. Technology can become our enabler if we are unaware, preventing our healing. A good coach is an accountability partner who helps us understand how we use things in life, such as food, digital media, etc., in ways that heal or hurt our process. And yes, we can use technology as part of our healing, but only within an overarching agenda with many other components that address our conditions and habits. As my darling Russill would say, and I quote, "don't compare the light of one thing with the darkness of another. Instead, compare the shadow with the shadow." Unfortunately, when we incorrectly draw analogies to validate something, we are unaware that we've put on blinders. And these blinders fortify our confirmation bias, meaning they don't get us out of our negativity loops and the kind of reasoning harming rather than helping our healing process. I acknowledge that the digital age has been and continues to be a boon, mainly as it makes inroads into underprivileged societies worldwide. People are becoming more aware of their rights, and their sense of global awareness is growing. The blessings of the digital age, from bioscience to engineering to agriculture, are enormous. Yet, the cost to our environment is at an all-time high resulting in the extinction of numerous species and fragile ecosystems, while ominous climate emergencies seriously threaten the planet. Our mental and personal ecosystems are consequently affected by this chaotic and unprecedented growth in technological advancement. And there is a corresponding fragility and foreboding of emergencies. Obesity, depression, and anxiety are at an all-time high. A point to note is that these modern plagues are interrelated and have complex correlations. And so are chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke, to name a few. The same goes for auto-immune diseases like Type I diabetes, hypothyroidism, and multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common progressive neurologic disease of young adults worldwide! It is easy to give up on ourselves and the world. Or we might trudge on without a thought while we nurse our resentments in secret. Others might shrug it off and say that none of this affects them. However, everything affects us. If there is one thing we know today, it is how interconnected everything is. And this is precisely where our three Mahatmas can inspire us toward action. Like Tubman, Gandhi, and MLK, we can create our destiny. You can choose to be: Unstoppable! Unbreakable! Unshakable! When we place great men and women on a pedestal, it is easy to forget they were willing to take continuous action toward their dreams. And they did this despite unsavory and challenging circumstances that could have overshadowed their goals and blocked their mission. Tubman, Gandhi, and MLK clearly defined what they wanted. And they trained and re-trained themselves to focus and achieve that vision no matter what. Imagine the freedom from overcoming whatever prevents you from living your best life, life to the fullest, a meaningful, purposeful, consciousness-enriched life. I want to help you achieve this through wellness, health, or applied spiritual coaching. Here are some features of my coaching process:
You take the step; I promise you you are in for a fantastic adventure that often has a ripple effect in multiple areas of your life, including your happiness—one of the reasons why students value their process with me.
Cheers! Asha Comments are closed.
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