I remember her sitting there, watching. She was watching as Mom would dip a handmade cotton wick into warm ghee. She was watching as Mom lit that wick and rang the silver bell. She was watching as the fragrant smoke of the incense twirled ribbons into the air. She was watching as each person in the room sat and recited, hands clasped and eyes closed. She was watching, wondering “why?” “Why is this important?” “Why are they doing this?” “Why am I here?” She is me. She is the version of me that came to realize in my questions of “why” hid the uncertainty of my “how”. “How can I find the importance for me?” “How can I be a unique part of this group?” “How can my presence hold value?” My passion for wellness and spirituality came from the power of my “why?”, a question that has been received from a lineage of practice. The greatest power of my “why” was in its ability to evolve into an illumination of “how,” for it was transferred from intellect to embodiment. As a child, I constantly was asking for the reason behind all the rituals we performed, allowing me to look deeper into scriptures. It was from learning about the scriptures and reciting them that I began to understand the light of my own experience, the light they provided for me to integrate and ground each message in my everyday. As I opened more to embodying the words of the scriptures and holding sacred the experience of my soul and thus all others, I began to look deeper into how I could nourish this experience from a place of reverence. After experiencing evolutionary shifts in my health, I realized the true healing was in the relationship that my mind held with my body, one that I never sought out to understand before. My mind was lauded for its ability, yet it stood separate from the experience of my body. In putting my energy in the intellect of several “why’s”, I started to see how my body dealt with negligence, and instead of finding compassion for a tired body, I found shame. It was through healing the relationship to my body and the relationship to my mind that I started to define what wellness came here to be for me - that I started to define “how” wellness could find its voice in my experience. Through the practice of Ayurveda, Vedic meditation, and movement, I started to evolve how I spoke to all parts of myself. I started to learn that each entity is composed, and through its composition it has power, allowing me to understand my own power. Through practicing and studying, I learned deeper that our experience is illustrated by the colors of our beliefs, and thus as I was approached more and more, I learned that through my healing I was able to speak to the parts of others that sought healing as well. It was through my practice of compassion that I was able to meet others with compassion as well. Our “why” is powerful, for it is the catalyst for “how” we will stand up in this world. It is the invitation, the acknowledgment that our mind needs our body, that our soul deserves the complete experience of our bodies. Whenever we are held by our need to understand, we must know that understanding is programmed in our body, and held dormant until we are able to experience the trust of our minds in our bodies. We are beings, here to be, for thinking is a function but not our entire existence. Why I am here is to show how I am here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SHWETA BHATT is a personal transitions coach helping others navigate significant life changes. After 6 years of working in finance with Fortune 100 executives and billion dollar budgets, Shweta realized her true calling was in helping people find more compassion, connection, and resilience within themselves as they navigate significant life changes. She uses her innate magic of storytelling alongside the personality science of human design and Vedic counseling to help others find clarity within chaos.