Zooming Out
Sep 22, 2021
It’s Pitru Paksha, the two-week period in the Hindu calendar (September 21-October 5 this year) dedicated to honoring one’s ancestors.
This traditionally includes your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. It can also be extended to include teachers, friends, mentors, and even pets that have departed.
It’s a great time to acknowledge with gratitude the legacy of wisdom or protection that you've received from loved ones or trusted elders who have passed. You might consider how you continue to benefit from their guidance and love in your life.
What if the blessings of your ancestors were in a box that you could open and release into your life at will?
But even if you don’t relate to notion of the invisible support of your lineage, it can be an interesting exercise to visualize what it would be like to view your life from their perspective.
In your mind’s eye, zoom out and envision all the goings-on of humanity. All of us are playing our roles and doing our things. See the messiness of life on this planet, as well as the particular contours of your individual reality. Then, imagine that it’s all held in an expansive and loving awareness that embraces everything without being affected by anything.
Perhaps it brings you a sense of peace, comfort, or fortitude. Or perhaps, like the space of witness consciousness that you touch in meditation or the expanded vision offered by spiritual wisdom, it offers a more elevated or liberating perspective on your life.