Excerpt from Become the Architect of Your Body, Mind, and Soul
by Lara Alexiou
The power of consciousness is what makes us human and sets us apart from the other creatures here in the world. We can create. We can hold a vision in our minds and manifest it in reality. I see this as one of our greatest gifts. This gift is magical!
Many spiritual teachers profess that suffering is necessary only until it is not. I interpret this as drama versus simplicity. Everyday, I see new students enter the yoga studio for the first time because they have decided they are finished living the way they have been living. Maybe they have been in chronic pain or depressed or bored or just living with a nagging sense that something better is out there for them, and that yoga will help uncover it. I see this new commitment, this willingness to try a new way of living as turning a corner away from suffering and toward peace. They are ready to take control and start creating instead of reacting.
In order to write the next new chapter of our lives, we must be willing to let go of drama and embrace a new simplicity. The decisions in my life I am most proud of, that I would make again if I went back in time, are always the ones that simplified my situation and moved me away from dramatic relationships, encounters, and situations.
Drama takes up a lot space. It encroaches on our mental energy and our physical well-being. Simplicity leaves room—more space in our heads, more time in our lives, more love in our hearts. Drama is crowded. Simplicity always has an extra place setting at the dinner table of life for opportunity and possibility.
Drama is a time-sucking, energy-draining distraction that keeps us from realizing our dreams. Simplicity brings our dreams into sharper focus and helps us manifest our visions. Drama is sneaky. It starts by planting seeds of doubts or conflicts or resentments. Drama exaggerates and lies. Drama needs a lot of attention to keep itself alive, and drama fights viciously for its own survival. Drama takes a small inconvenience and turns it into a catastrophic problem.
Simplicity, on the other hand, gives us ease and space for new opportunities and possibilities. Simplicity urges us to let go of everything we do not want or need and keeps our lives tidy and ease-filled. Simplicity rewards for focusing on the people, places, things, and ideas that are most important, most beneficial to us. Simplicity takes the biggest challenges we face and breaks them down into tiny, manageable steps that strengthen our confidence and sense of accomplishment.
When people need drama in their lives—aside from novels and films—it generally means they are fearful of living, lack confidence, and prefer to focus on the negative. People who embrace simplicity are generally successful at what they set their sights on achieving. Drama’s primary purpose is to block us from our highest goals; simplicity’s goal is to prioritize our lives so that what we value most is always in our sights.
What would your life be like if you were creating what you wanted instead of reacting to what comes your way? Answer this without getting bogged down by practicalities like time or money. Start creating. Energize your imagination. Begin with a vision. Move toward your vision step by step. Put it in your Instagram feed! Give it life and energy by having it brew inside your mind.
Which would you prefer, simplicity or drama? The choice really is yours. As someone who chooses simplicity, I can tell you this: A simple life is a good life, and a good life is much more fun than one filled with drama!
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Lara Alexiou is the author of Become the Architect of your Body, Mind and Soul and owner of Steamtown Yoga. She has been helping people transform their lives through the Eastern Healing Arts for nearly two decades. For more information and to read Alexiou’s yoga and wellness blog, visit her online at https://www.steamtownyoga.com/books and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.