11:11 - Make a Wish!
123rd Edition
Happy Spiritual Monday
1111, often referred to as good luck, auspicious, important, portal, etc… There are some who live by the mystic qualities of numerology, angel numbers and similar elements of esoterica, there are those who scoff at the idea that this could have any meaning. I’m open to the possibility that today could be a magic day, even if it is simply a Gregorian coincidence that the numbers align as they do, seemingly coincidentally.
Absence
It has been 2 months since my last writing, and a lot has happened in this time, yet I didn’t feel compelled to write about it until today. I’ll give the brief catch up here: My son turned 2, we had a celebration with 30 people at our beautiful home in the hills with friends we haven’t seen for years, we sat around the fire, I crashed the mower after the brakes failed, we’ve lost one of the jobs in the house, and I have committed to re-establishing my personal business. There was also a really fun to watch reality show happening that has had an exciting twist…
Life has been interesting and exciting, with the latter sentiment overwhelming my psyche the majority of the time!
Forward Momentum
It has been over a year since I was involved in any training program as a facilitator and I’ve noticed how I love sharing with people, students, those who are hungry to absorb. I’ve spent the last year and a bit as a full time dad, hanging with my boy, taking him to explore places, hopefully teaching him and showing him ways to be that are better than how I am.
In this time, I have been humbled, overjoyed, tired, stressed, challenged, overwhelmed and everything in between. What a profound respect I have for mothers, as this is one demanding job, and I don’t even have to do the breastfeeding!
We are now shifting back into me working and mama going back into mama mode, which feels fantastic, exciting and all the feelings that come with jumping back on the saddle.
In the past year I’ve had time off from seeing upwards of 600 students a week, interacting with hundreds more and have sat in meditation and contemplation of life, work, purpose and similar themes. It stokes my curiosity… what am I here?
Profound Realisations
If you’re a human, you would likely be primed to hear my huge realisation about the question posed just above… But I am not here to give you the key to life, the answer, the skeleton key to immortality.
What my realisation has been is that I thrive when I am sharing more, so I am excited to share more. There are probably hundred of ideas that have passed through my mind of programs, workshops, courses and classes, likely some products in there too. What has often stopped me from actioning them, is the consideration that they likely don’t solve the problems we face as humanity, they don’t cure any big ailments or issues and they may not be the massive shift in consciousness I’d love to contribute to creating in our time.
Then I noticed how excited I get over items and courses which also do not solve the world’s problems. My froth levels peak when I go for a surf - yet I’m not exactly saving the world. When I make some silly joke and my son laughs, I feel whole, but again - no world saviour here. I could give heaps more examples, but I’ll get to the point I’ve found: It doesn’t matter the impact, so long as there is joy in creation, and ironically, when there is joy, often the impact is elevated.
What a relief!
My perfectionistic characteristics have kept me in a state of analysis paralysis for much of my creative life, a trait I don’t intend on passing onto my son. He has been a huge inspiration for me to thrive, and I intend to live up to his wishes.
Watching him and other children playing reminds me of how I am, playful, joyful, fun at heart, but how I have been succumbing to “trying to be adult” a little too much in a world in need of precisely the opposite.
Back on the Saddle
My life has been blessed with 7 siblings. Of these, 2 are older than me and my big sister - my only and, coincidentally favourite sister - has been my closest ally in life. Chellbean has been a constant guide, idea bouncer, coach, motivator and believer in me and my work. She also has spent a sizeable amount of her life as an elite horse trainer, rider, friend and competitor. Only fitting that under her encouragement I get back on the saddle to create and deliver courses again!
My adult life has always been focused on giving an experience - from waiting tables, running bars, making music and djing, teaching yoga classes and trainings, coaching, hosting dinner, even driving the car I want the passengers to have a pleasant experience. In this way, I have developed a skill for delivering courses in a way that is relatable, digestible, accessible and beneficial, I might even dare to say enjoyable! So this is what I am planning to do with that background.
For many years I have wanted to offer a course for yoga students who wish to go deeper into practice, but do not want to enrol in a teacher training course, as it is not their intention to teach. Until a couple years ago, and even a bit since, I was at the behest of the studios/ businesses I worked for, as I was their employee and had not vested interest in the brand or company.
I have helped many studios create, refine and deliver great trainings, trainings on which I have been proud of my offering, but in which I have not been in 100% alignment with the direction or complete collection of the material offered. This is natural, but worth naming. These companies have often declared that the program I had in mind would not work, mainly because Yoga Teacher Training has become more of a business, and my program might take away from the profits of corralling students into a level of training they may not need to get more money!
As a free man, I have decided to go ahead and share my thoughts with the wider world. Beyond just yoga, but starting with yoga. It has been a great joy of mine to share the theory, practice and philosophy of this art form with blossoming students and teachers over the past couple decades, but I have seen where some programs have given way too much information in some areas while completely missing opportunities in spaces I feel are more important.
In the coming year I will be launching 3 key programs, with the aim of gathering people of curiosity to share the knowledge and wisdom I have accumulated over my time in this body with the hopes of sharing to give people access to areas they may have passed up in order to succeed in their chosen paths.
Big Boy Pants
In some ways, I have avoided the work of creating websites, businesses and the like, due to the cruisy nature I am known for. In some ways, I had simply become accustomed to being someone else’s employee, building their dreams in a way that I got in a loop of just showing up and performing without having to deal with the backend.
Not so long ago, I would be a bit embarrassed to share that I was lacking in some general life/ admin areas, as many around me hold me in high regard and I wanted to live up to the hype. It doesn’t bother me to admit, now, that I have some areas needing some tidying, but it is empowering me to grow, which is what humans crave and need.
My spiritual path is currently making friends with technology, admin, organisation in a way that I can offer what I hold to those who could benefit from me.
The future is exciting, and I have spent the past week and a half updating (really building) my website to hold and host information on what I’m doing.
It feels good to be back and I look forward to sharing more. For now, if you’d like to see what I’m up to, head to troyabraham.com to stay updated, and I wish you the greatest day and close to this year!
And so it is, with love.
PS: My first program will be running in January, and I will be doing 2 webinars on November 19 to share details on it. If you’d like to join, HERE’s a link for the zoom calls at 7:30 am and pm Sydney Time.
Yoga Expansion Webinar 1
Time: Nov 19, 2024 07:30 AM & 19:30 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
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