Reaching our own state of Nirvana

On Saturday my husband, son and I attended the TedXBermuda event at the Fairmont Southamption Princess. From the moment I sat down and saw a most beautiful painting as the backdrop for the event, I knew I was in the right place at the right time. It felt so good to be in the company of seekers like me. People looking for the betterment of themselves and in doing so, the betterment of mankind.

Tedx is a wonderful organisation that has evolved to open our minds. To challenge us to think differently by listening to the stories of many storytellers who come up on stage and are brave enough to share their stories.
The event opened with a young lady called Ishrat Yakub, hula hooping in a style I had never seen before. Watching her spin  the hula as if the hula was an extension of her body was mind boggling. Particularly since she was using the hula in ways unconventional to the norm. And then when she was done, she spoke so poetically about what the hula had done for her. A young girl who grew up in Dubai where modesty was more acceptable than anything else. Where dance was frowned upon because it was not modest. But yet when she saw someone hula dancing for the first time, she felt a stir within her and so she decided to take lessons. Lessons that opened her up to a side of herself that had always resided within her and had been waiting for her to discover it. Liberating her from her fear of her own femininity.
She said so many beautiful things after her mesmerizing act of hula hooping but one thing she said in particular that struck me was, "Sometimes when I am hula hooping, I reach a state of now, the state of complete self acceptance and being fully present." Meaning she reached her own Nirvana. Even typing the words I can feel her state of peace. Her ecstasy. Her present moment connection while she is in her zone, when nothing else matters except her and her hula hoop. Except that state when she becomes one with everything and nothing. A state I know all too well when I am writing. When I let go and let be. When the words flow out of me rather than me to trying to control the flow.
It was as she spoke that I realized more than anything finding our passion and practicing it every moment we can allows us to reach our own individual state of Nirvana. Allows us to see and feel that we are a part of a much bigger whole. That what one does to another, affects us all. That we are more interconnected than we know but we only know this when we find what brings us back to the beginning. What brings us face to face with who we are and why we are where we are. Because it is in this zone that we are opened up to joy, pure joy and abundance,
For Ishrat it is when she gets within the circle of her hula that magic begins to happen to her mind, body and soul. A magic that allows them all to become one allowing there to be no separation between the movement of her body and the hula as they flow together without force. Without interruption. Just being present in the moment and letting the movement of the hula and her body synchronize such that their movements flow to natural rhythm of her soul. The rhythm of her heartbeat which is the heartbeat of the Universe.
At the break I was too full to want to go out and mingle with the crowd. I wanted to sit in silence and reflect on the speakers that I had just heard. I wanted to savor the feeling of awe I felt that I was able to be in the presence of so many wonderful thinkers and doers. To fully digest the sense of privilege and blessing I felt that I was in the position to offer this experience to the sponge mind of my 15 year old. Allowing him to expand his thinking beyond the norm of his circle. To let him see the possibility that exists for him when he discovers his passion. Feeling so proud that our son was sitting with his father and mother on a Saturday afternoon learning as we were learning - learning together as family. Wishing my daughter was with us but she was off doing her passion. Rehearsing for a play. And as all these thoughts were running through my mind, I looked up at the painting that formed the backdrop for the event and silently expressed my gratitude for the learning that I was experiencing with my family. As I felt like the person depicted in the painting sitting on the rock looking out at the moon and the endless horizon - at the all that is us all when we are ready.

And then I felt this presence behind me . A presence that willed me to turn so I did and sitting behind me was Ishtar. Somehow she seemed much smaller than the performer who had been on stage. More vulnerable than the woman that was in the zone with her hula on the stage. And it was this vulnerability that invited me to chat with her. Only to discover that this talented young lady is a resident of Bermuda. An auditor no less who arrived in Bermuda from Dubai via Canada. How she had come to perform because she had volunteered to help at the event. Only for someone to discover a YouTube video showing her hula hoop skills. Allowing her to go beyond just volunteering to performing. Showing that when we listen to our inner voice, we are always led to where we need to be.
There were so many other speakers that I could write about and maybe I will but today it was Ishrat that moved me to write about her. To share her story to allow us all to remember when we listen, really listen to our inner voice, it always leads us to the place where our passion can be unleashed and set free. Allowing us to be unleashed and set free. Happy Monday everyone. Feeling totally blessed and inspired...