kind of drink

A different kind of drink

A new year is not just about setting resolutions. "It is an opportunity for our stage of consciousness to transition from dark to light; to let go of our past and invest in our future by living fully and lovingly in the present," explains Sister Jenna.

What is it about the coming of a new year that makes us reflect at a deeper level than we do in the middle of the year? We start to take a mental account of what we have done and what we have yet to do. I am of the firm belief that “should haves” don’t serve us. Our lives have played out the way they were meant to, and now we’re in a powerful position to consider how we would like to steer them from this point on.

The new year is about more than ritualistically setting resolutions before the clock strikes midnight. This annual transition of time is an opportunity for our stage of consciousness to transition from dark to light; to let go of our past and invest in our future by living fully and lovingly in the present.

As many make plans to toast the new year with carefully selected dates and parties, I’m reminded of my former life, prior to becoming fully dedicated to living from the inside out. When I was in my 20s, I was managing two nightclubs in South Beach, Miami. I was at the top of my game, living the high life in a beautiful, oceanfront apartment, with a brimming social life. I was in a good place, not searching for anything.

Then I had a deeply profound experience of silence, pure love, and the light of God that awakened something in me. It took me on a path of giving more than taking, it took me into real living. This entry of a new consciousness was so significantly more meaningful than my nightclub lifestyle that I had no choice other than to surrender to it. Looking back, I realise how enormous a transformation the soul went through; it shifted my way of speaking, walking, dressing and essentially being.

My role as a spiritual teacher is to be so curious about my own self-transformation that it just might inspire others to examine this practice for themselves and find the courage to let go and give into the experience of true intoxication

Now perhaps that level of change is not on the horizon for you, though letting go of something likely is. We may not all surrender to God or living more from inside out, what I tend to say, “paying attention” instead of living from tension, but to think of surrender as breaking our attachments and finding the courage to love more, we could all make that a resolution.

There is a continuous, subconscious habit of competing with attachments, expectations, resistance, and the ego, and all takes a toll on the soul. When we take an honest look at our inner thoughts and feelings, we slowly begin to accept the reality of this habitual pattern. We realise that we are more often in a state of illusion than truth. The path of spirituality is about examining the percentage we spend in the consciousness of our truth.

My role as a spiritual teacher is to be so curious about my own self-transformation that it just might inspire others to examine this practice for themselves and find the courage to let go and give into the experience of true intoxication. I believe when someone is intoxicated about self-realisation, there is a faith that naturally moves the soul to make the impossible possible. It has the wisdom to release old patterns that no longer serve the betterment of the soul or the folks that revolve around them.

At this time, it seems my part that’s unfolding in front of me and the world, is to offer a portal to a different kind of intoxication than my earlier days in the clubs, it’s the intoxication of spiritual wisdom. There is something in the taste of realising your worthiness, your capacity, your purity. And this drink of knowledge holds no fear of driving under the influence where you might hurt yourself or someone else. Instead, you might feel strong enough to pick someone up who is down and share a thought that will awaken them for the new year. There is no hangover, just the happiness of being ready to continue your journey, renewed and lighter.

So, for this new year, our ability to surrender opens an opportunity to break the illusions of the mind that are holding us back from forging forward and really living a life of pure freedom. Instead, we gracefully, and powerfully glide ourselves into a new year with eyes that sparkle with enlightenment, a smile as soft as a child, and heart of pure gold.

Sister Jenna

The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) is an international non-governmental organisation, which intends to help individuals re-discover and strengthen their inherent worth by encouraging and facilitating a process of spiritual awakening.

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