Manifesting with P.I.E.S.

Set your intention with mindfulness

In setting an intention for this year, I've chosen a word to carry with me through 2025: Healing. In all I say and do, my goal will be to incorporate this element as a priority. When I respond to someone, am I offering myself and that person healing? When I decide to eat or drink something, am I inviting healing? How about how I spend my time? Is it healing? Sometimes we benefit most from a fresh start by using a single or concise word/phrase rather than a list of accomplishments or goals. Sometimes the list is too black and white. Sometimes the list invites self-criticism. Instead, I suggest we try on a different perspective rather than tasks. To help both of us, I've included the following...

Have you ever heard of P.I.E.S? It stands for...

Physical

Intellectual

Emotional

Spiritual

These are domains that are part of the Self, which is all of who you are. I recently began the pursuit of Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training. As a requirement, I am reading the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda. Fortunately, I had a copy from a prior New Years book list from years past. So, I dusted it off and as I began churning through. The words practically jumped out of the page at me...

How do we navigate who we are?

When we identify the Self as "mother," "brother," "artist," "supervisor," "runner," "couch potato" (I made that one up. It's not in the book), we are identifying our whole identity in that moment to another person or an action we take (or don't) in life. While we know we are more than just that one thing. In some moments, we forget. This causes great suffering. When I reflect, I am finding this unwaveringly true.

Consider a recent time when you were hurt or disappointed. Why was it? Was it because someone wasn't behaving towards you in the way you believe you deserve, or because you didn't receive recognition for an accomplishment? While these can cause pain because of someone else's self-centeredness, it doesn't serve us to shrink ourselves in this moment. If we feel the hurt, we can ask, "Am I remembering the greater power that is in me right now? That there is more to me than being a wife/husband/employee/boss/mother/father?" What happens to the disappointment when you remember your physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual parts? Do you remember to pray for compassion and peace? Do you remember that you can take a deep breath in this moment? What happens to your frustration when you remember you are more than who you are in relationship to a person or thing? Pause now and notice for yourself.

I'm willing to bet that while your suffering may not melt away entirely, it has subsided some. If there is less suffering because you are not identifying with things that are not actually part of your Self, who the Self is will manifest. Letting go of the identities that others project upon you and that which you project upon yourself is equally important. Let go of the concept that "I am this or that" and notice those as thoughts that do not serve you. Instead, ask yourself what you would like to manifest in your Self? What do you want to see?

Mahatma Gandhi says "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." If you let go of this false sense of self, then what is left? What would you like to see there? If it requires change, make it so that others will benefit and you will be less concerned with the success or failure of your intent. It will be pure this way.

This year, I encourage you to come alongside me and heal the parts of the Self that have gone unseen, ignored, and unfed for some time. Consider practicing with me intentionally and with regular eagerness daily, if even for 5 minutes, to check in with all parts of yourself using a journal. In each page, place a quadrant something like what I've shown below and follow these instructions. Try it for at least 3 months. See if you don't know yourself better. If you don't understand what you need and how to get it. I'm willing to bet that you will.

Regardless of what you may be rumbling with or experiencing, know that I see the light and love within you.

PIES

 I use this to organize a visual portion of the Self, and then I write a short affirmation/ statement under each category to affirm my intention to care for, connect, and nurture that aspect of being. The more specific and direct the affirmation is, the more readily it will manifest.

Today…

Physical I am mindfully nurturing my body with gentle and intentional movements that support my selfless service to others	Intellectual I am curiously observing myself and others to gain understanding of intent
Emotional I am softly caring for my feelings as they arise and giving attention only to the ones that serve a purpose	Spiritual I am nurturing connection with a power higher than my own in observing nature as I pass through my day