Layers Beneath

May 1, 2025

Greetings yogis,

Shallots, Russian dolls, eucalyptus bark and the human journey; layers upon layers upon layers. We are all a woven tapestry of our life experiences, emotions, cultural conditioning and familial imprinting. Each one of us a sacred soul, coated and laminated in overlapping sheaths, films and veneers that can shroud our light. How much of our own muck and mire must we dig through to get to that luminous substratum below, the underlying substance, the foundation who we truly are? How deep can one go within their own Self to excavate their essence and move forward on the journey to healing and becoming whole?

Perhaps you might haughtily think like I once did, ‘I’m already there.’ But is there the finale? As of late I’ve come to know for certain that a life well lived is an infinite process of peeling back the layers towards wholeness and healing. A boundless, plunging dive that spirals, coils and curves over and over again as our expanding awareness reveals yet another layer, and then another, only to discover new parts of ourselves we had overlooked, abandoned or conveniently hidden away.

We may pull over from time to time and lodge ourselves in the sediment of one layer and think – this is it! Foolishly, we become attached to that state and limit our potential for transformation. We may linger there a month, a season or perhaps years before we let ourselves get cracked open again and go even deeper. Try not to stagnate too long, there is always a calling to evolve and life will gift us infinite ways to do so if we pay attention.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve had profound opportunities to sand away my own calcifications with some highly gritty experiences. Boring down into new depths I didn’t even know existed helped me realize that this journey of awakening has no finite end. There’s sweetness in that truth, not despair, that has helped me soften into an ever deepening state of acceptance of my humanness and thus, everyone else's.

The practice, and life itself, is always presenting us with limitless chances to shake a few layers free, moving in and down towards that which is indestructible. Be mindful of your ruts. What are you holding onto in this very moment that keeps you from loving more, living more purposefully and feeling your wholeness? Go now. Let the eyes of your eyes finally see, the ears of your ears finally hear and let your heart beat like newfound love.

May we all know our divinity,

Nat K

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti