‘Amor Fati’ – Love of Fate: 5 Mantras to Embrace the Here & Now

Love of fate.

A philosophy in the simplest form, and yet the depths of its implications reach deep into the unborn seeds of all that we question, all that we resist, and all that we come to believe. What does this imply? Is there choice? Is fate predetermined? How do I embracing loving something I may not want or CHOOSE in the present moment, especially if it is painful?

Manifestation is the idea that we create what we experience, we become what we believe, and the here and now has not “happened” to us, but somewhere along the line, we chose it for our own growth. If that feels like a bit too much to bite off and chew, maybe we can begin with 5 simple mantras to become more present and more accepting of the moment we are currently living. That does not mean complacency or stagnation, it means acceptance and clear conscious sight. What other choice do we have?

1. I trust it is here to remove a veil

I trust. Two of the hardest words for us to say to anyone or anything. In a culture of ‘mine versus yours’, separation, and a desperate attempt to control life as much as possible to minimize pain, trusting in what we cannot see, explain or predict causes levels of anxiety in many of us that we cannot wish away. But to trust that something has occurred to “remove a veil” offers a glimmer of hope and remembrance that struggles in the current moment lead to SOMETHING better. Whatever the ‘IS’ is, whether an event/loss/hardship/joy, disappointment may not disappear, pain may not diminish, anger may not soften immediately, but the veil will slowly dissolve, and something more wholesome WILL emerge. Growth WILL occur. Truth WILL be revealed. We may not like it along the way, but the veil will be removed on our former understanding.

2. I am what I am, nothing more, and certainly nothing less

This phrase was once shared with me by a spiritual mentor, awakener, and psychotherapist Annette Hulefeld regarding the true meaning of humility. (I highly recommend her if you’re willing to begin the journey, but ONLY if you’re ready to call BS on your own BS) Humility in our culture has come to be associated with an act of softening the sharpness and intensity of our beings, dulling their brilliance, and minimizing their power. But true humility, is simply seeing all for exactly what it is, nothing more, and nothing less. To be humble therefore, is to see clearly the gifts that we are, and the power we have within choosing who we will become. These gifts have been innately bestowed upon us. We do not need to earn these gifts or the love we offer ourselves for being what we truly are. There is strength in this recognition and acceptance of what simply is what it is. By saying these words, we reclaim our purpose and our unique dharma.

 

3. I choose to love what I cannot change, and I will change to choose love

Choice. This one is two-fold. It begins with an understanding that something has happened in our lives that we may not have chosen. That something feels unchangeable and unexpected. It begins with acknowledging what cannot be changed no matter how badly we wish or had hoped it would. But we always have a choice to how we react and within this choice, lies fate. Will we choose to grow, or will shrivel on the vine of regret and victimization? Amor Fati, love of fate. This does not mean roll over and do nothing. The second piece of this is that WE get to decide how we will use our vision to see the beauty, the opportunity, and the gift that fate is again offering; the choice to choose openness and love versus resistance and shutdown. If we don’t get it right, fate usually offers this gift to us again and again until we do. Sometimes, life just sucks, but when we stop seeing the struggles as punishment, but as opportunity, the entire lens shifts.

4. A soul contract is being upheld through my surrender

For anyone that hasn’t read “Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential” by Caroline Myss, treat yourself this fall and binge read it with your favorite chai tea latte. It is a perfect introduction to mantra #4. Soul contracts are contracts that our higher selves chose to live out in this lifetime. Lessons our soul desires to learn whether individually or through relationship with other friends, family, partners, etc. A soul contract can be any degree of joyful or sorrowful and run the gauntlet of emotions that lie between. It always is for one purpose though, soul growth through surrender. Surrender to seeing truth and love in all that is, whether distasteful at the time or fleetingly luxurious.

 

5. I let my wound become my grace

This mantra came from a dear yoga teacher and one of the wisest women I know, Seane Corn. If you have ever studied with Seane or read her new book “Revolution of the Soul: Awaken to Love through Raw Truth, Radical Healing, and Conscious Action” , you’ll quickly learn Seane is a no-nonsense kind of yogi. Not one of glitter and rainbows but of grit and truth. We have wounds. It is part of the DNA of being human. We are thrust into this human experience of pain, regret, shame, trauma, ignorance, limited beliefs, wrong seeing, and fear. But we can CHOOSE to heal from it and let it become a power of grace the world may have never seen before. This has been my mantra for 10 years now from the first time I heard her say it in a workshop in New York City. Sometimes it takes us hitting rock bottom to realize we needed fate to SHIFT our direction. Our wounds are often the gift of fate.

Amor Fati, love of fate. I hope these mantras keep you warm on those cold dark nights of the soul. Those moments when life seems to be spinning out of control, off the rails, and into an unknown, unforeseen, unnerving chaotic kaleidoscope. That in those moments you can remember that a kaleidoscope is an opportunity to once again discover the hidden gifts this wild ride of life is trying to offer you to see things differently.

 

Sending love on your journeys,
Liz