Yoga is Union With God

Like everyone else in this town, I am waiting for another batch of snow that will begin falling shortly. And like many others, I ventured forth in the small window of time we have, in search of supplies, only to be confronted with empty shelves and treacherous roads.

And now, I am content to be home again, in my inner sanctum, where I meditate, surrounded by the beautiful energies of my sacred space...

Once more I turn to Paramahansa Yogananda, and my heart is warmed by this one paragraph that I found myself reading and re-reading, over and over again these last couple of days.

What is yoga? Every teacher tries to answer this question more or less succinctly to every new student she or he encounters in a class. Often the answer given is that yoga is an ancient discipline - that the word yoga itself is translated as "yoke" and that it is a practice that unites or recognizes that the body, mind, and spirit are all one...

But right now, I am drawn to Yogananda's simple explanation: Yoga is union with God. That is, for all intent and purposes, the goal of our lives. The "Royal Path of Yoga" is the path and practice of meditation - and its culmination is very simply, attaining - and maintaining - oneness with the Divine at all times. And this, takes dedicated practice. Yogananda taught, that one should meditate at least one hour a day. After all, does God not deserve at least 1/24th of our day and attention?

"It is alright to enjoy life; the secret of happiness is to not become attached to anything. Enjoy the smell of the flower, but see God in it. I have kept the consciousness of the senses only that in using them I may always perceive and think of God. Mine eyes were made to behold Thy beauty everywhere. My ears were made to hear Thine omnipresent voice. That is Yoga, union with God.

It is not necessary to go to the forest to find Him. Worldly habits will hold us fast wherever we may be until we free ourselves from them.

The yogi learns to find God in the cave of his heart. Wherever he goes, he carries with him the blissful consciousness of God's presence."

Yoga is union with God. In everything that we do. In everything that we say. In everything that we are. Every moment is sacred. And so is every opportunity we receive. And every encounter with one another. Yoga is life...

As I wait for the snow, I am reminded that mindful waiting is also yoga. How I shovel the snow, and prepare meals, and spend my time with a spouse who is frustrated by being cooped inside, is also yoga.

The Divine is in every snow flake that falls, and in every task and action I undertake. I offer them all up. As the Bhagavad Gita teaches, a yogi or yogini freely offers his or her actions without any attachment to the fruit of those actions, for they belong only to God. This is the heart of the true inner renunciant. And this also constitutes true union with God.

Cultivating Good Habits

This morning, as I reviewed Paramahansa Yogananda's writings, I felt myself drawn to his insights on the cultivation of good habits, and so I was inspired to post a few of them in an almost rapid fire manner, to Facebook and Twitter, before my students arrived for yoga class. As always, I found much food for thought in his words of wisdom, and they seemed to elicit some reflections on the part of some of my readers as well.

Here are the ones I posted, and a few more added in for good measure:

"Those who are attracted to calm and serenity attract the same...

It takes 5 to 8 years to substitute a good habit for a bad habit...

Don't let unhealthy ideas float down the stream of your habit forming thoughts...

The sin of all sins is ignorance...

You are the sole creator of good or bad habits...

Avoid surroundings that encourage wrong actions and never deliberately bring evil thoughts into the mind...

Strengthen your will power...

Exercise good judgment and discrimination...

People of bad habits seek bad company...

People do not intentionally turn to evil, nor do they really enjoy being evil. They are evil because they do not know the greater of charm of good habits...

If you have a bad habit of telling lies and by so doing have lost many friends, start the opposite habit of telling the truth. It takes time to form either a good habit or a bad one...

Evil cannot keep man under the influence of error forever, because he is made i the image of God..."

So today, reflect upon your habits, and dedicate yourself to working on one. See if you can shift one, so that over time, it may become ingrained...

Snow. Silence. And the Birthing of an Invincible Summer.

"I know a new and kinder day will come...
And there is only one way of preparing the new age,
by living it even now in our hearts."
~ Etty Hillesum

"In the depth of winter I finally learned
that there was in me
an invincible summer."
~ Albert Camus

The nearly 30 hours or so of relentless snow has ceased, and left much that will need attention to, in its aftermath - downed trees that are now precariously resting against my neighbor's house, a road that may not be plowed for days and that connects us to the outer world, power that was off for over five hours, and a half cooked turkey that we were not able to finish cooking and eat until about 10 PM!

Still, in the midst of all this fury, there was breathtaking beauty and God's sweetest invitation to slow down, to be present, to enjoy the moment, and to commune with Him. And truly, what can be better than that?

Since I am very much a contemplative at heart, the idea of being home bound for days is always enticing, except that I must re-schedule some appointments here and there to fully take advantage of this unexpected gift of "kairos" - sacred time - that gently pulled so many out of "chronos" - time measured by clocks and dictated by calendars...

Through the wonder of social networking and media, I was able to ascertain that many braved the weather well. My dear friend's purchase of the birdseed that I referred to in my previous entry, came in handy, and kept the party in her back yard going, even under the circumstances. And so many of my wild yogi and yogini friends posted pictures of themselves in advanced poses in the snow, resulting in much good cheer spread through the infinite highways of cyberspace!

Today, the sun shines brightly and magnificently, almost defiantly negating that the previous couple of days had been both treacherous and dangerous! Today, it is a shiny winter wonderland out there that is almost blinding to the eye...

Yet still, a part of me is dreaming of spring and summer, and there is a deep longing in me to be in a tank top and on the river, paddling upstream with Grace, my kayak...

But instead, I read some of these words yesterday by Etty Hillesum, a young woman who died in Auschwitz at the age of 29, and Paramahansa Yogananda, and they filled me, and warmed me, even during those hours when the temperature in my house slowly plummeted...

From Hillesum:

"It is a great deal to realize that one comprises part of a great growing process, indeed simply to be aware of such a process. I believe that for far too many people life still consists of rather disconnected, accidental moments...

There is a vast silence in me that continues to grow. And washing around in it are so many words that make one tired because one can express nothing with them. One must do more and more without meaningless words the better to find the few one needs. And in the silence, new powers of expression must grow...One day I shall find my own words for the things I have say..."

"Yes: to belong to one's experience. And to transform it. That is my great yearning...We must carry our experience within us, place it at the center of a quiet space within us and hearken to it there. That is something you cannot do if you pay too much heed to the enthusiasms assailing your poor self from without. To be alone. Stillness. No matter how much of a bustling crowd there is about you..."

From Yogananda:

"Humility is the example of an understanding heart and an example of greatness for others to follow.

Whatever you want others to be, first be that yourself.

Your good example will do more to change others than your wishing or words..."

Yes, there is, an invincible summer in the depths of this great winter which is slowly melting the icicles of my heart and eroding the confines of this waning season. It is growing, and soon my invincible summer will be radiantly on display for all to see, and it will be fully enjoyed. And today, my deep longing for it dissolves in the slightest, sweetest, inkling of a taste!

40 Lbs of Bird Seed and Inner Wisdom

As the snow falls gently, before it starts to get much heavier and blankets us in the nearly two feet or more that have been predicted, I stop, and marvel at the beauty all around me. While others are stockpiling snacks, and toilet paper and booze, my heart is warmed by the thoughtfulness of a dear soul friend, who ventured forth to buy 40 pounds of birdseed, to make sure that the congregation of cardinals and blue jays and others that gather in her back yard to party could continue to do so throughout the winter weather! She does this, she tells me, because it brings her great joy. But I know, it is because she has a big compassionate heart...

I sit here, in my office, warmed by that thought, thinking of how my husband has instead, set up ominous plastic owls to scare off the birds because they leave droppings all over the deck, and I have to laugh...What is one person's delight, is another's irritation...

Earlier, I tried to go down to the river, to watch and feel the heavy wet snow cover everything in sight and become one with the river, but it had been partially blocked off, so I was not able to go for a visit...

I sit here now, working and watching the snow coming down, and feel myself invited to journey very deeply in as I sip a cup of coffee, lost in thoughts, my tongue on edge with poems that seek birthing...

I have been reflecting a lot on inner wisdom, and relying on one's inner guidance this week. And I have come across a number of quotes from both Paramahansa Yogananda's writings and other sources that have spoken to me on this topic...

"Getting in touch with yourself
must be your first priority."
~ Tom Hopkins

"Our lives improve only when we take chances...
and the first and most difficult risk we can take
is to be honest with ourselves."
~ Walter Anderson

"Adventure can be an end in itself.
Self-discovery is the secret
that fuels daring."
~ Grace Lichtenstein

These quotes invite self-inquiry and thus self-awareness, which invariably leads to relying more deeply upon one's inner wisdom. We carry within us, the seeds for our own happiness and healing. And yet, we spend so much time looking outside of ourselves for answers...

Earlier this week, this very same friend who so selflessly has provided for the birds that visit her back yard, invited me to trust my inner wisdom, gently urging me to take a more active role in my journey of healing and in re-igniting my yoga practice.

I listened, followed her advice, and found myself, as I shared with her a few days later - joyously reconnecting with the heart of the practice once again, enjoying the movements I could still do without the experience of pain, I suppose, not unlike someone learning a new skill for the first time. Within me, lay the ability to not only experience my practice with more joy, but I found that its fruits spilled over in my meditations, and my disposition and demeanor as well...

"Be so happy in your mind that nothing that comes
can possibly make you unhappy."
~ Yogananda

"If you want to be perennially happy,
look within.."
~ Yogananda

"Sorrow has no being of its own...
Constantly you affirm sorrow,
therefore it exists.
Deny it in your mind
and it will exist no longer."
~ Yogananda

"Avoid associating with those
who are always complaining about life.
God will never reveal Himself to you
unless you are contented and happy."
~ Yogananda

To connect and embody our own inner wisdom, there are things we must let go of - things that we must, in essence renounce. Only then will we live more deeply...

"Renunciation does not mean giving up everything;
it means giving up small pleasures
for eternal bliss..."
~ Yogananda

We give up some things, to experience others. And in these small things, we find great joy and touch the Divine in our lives. It can come through the spontaneous and loving insight of a friend, through the falling snow as a gift of God, through the warmth and comfort of a cup of coffee, or through nascent poetic musings...

All is well in my heart and soul...

Life is truly a thing of great beauty!

Trust Your Inner Guidance

It is such a simple lesson. Trust yourself. Trust your inner guidance. But how often do we do this? Really?

My experiences yesterday with a very dear friend - and two other subsequent conversations with souls who are also dear to me - affirmed what I had been sensing and feeling about some directions to take in my life. But I didn't trust my own intuitions, until they were mirrored back to me. And really, I do know better!

My favorite quote by the poet Rumi is one I often share with my students over, and over again. Right now, I am feeling that these simple verses are inviting me to really listen to its very compelling exhortation, so that I can then embody it, and shine out its message to others:

"The whole universe is within you.
Ask all from yourself!"

I am a microcosm of the macrocosm! There is nothing I cannot do if I put my mind to it! And thus this morning, I find these quotes in my email inbox, once more, giving me exactly what I need:

"I never know what the next lesson is going to be,
because we're not supposed to know;
we're supposed to trust ourselves to discover it."
~ Melody Beattie

"I trust so much in the power of the heart and soul;
I know the answer to what we need to do next
is in our hearts.
All we have to do is listen,
then take that one step further
and trust what we hear.
We will be taught what we need to learn."
~ Melody Beattie

"Ultimately, we must learn to trust ourselves.
When we do this intimately and intelligently,
the world opens full of meaning before us.
We find that we ourselves are the doorway
to a fathomless understanding of the source of life itself.
We need only to learn to walk through it."
~ James Thornton

How deeply do you trust your inner guidance? How deeply do you listen?

Trust what is best for you, gather information, ask for assistance, but in the end, you are the only expert in your life. Listen to your soul. Listen with all your heart. What is it that your whole being says "yes" to?

Listen for that, and then follow your inner guidance.

As I shared with a dear friend and student last week, ask to be shown the way. Ask to be shown clearly. And then listen. And trust your inner guidance. I am only sharing what I myself, need to work on!

Stillness, Meditation, Renunciation and the Labyrinth

I have been a little out of sorts and overwhelmed the last couple of days...

And so, this morning, I got up, and read a passage from Paramahansa Yogananda's writings before my meditation in search of some insight. And these were the words that spoke to me:

"To engage in actions without desire for their fruit is true tyaga (renunciation). God is the Divine Renunciant, for He carries on all the activities of the universe without attachment to them. Anyone aspiring to Self-Realization - whether he be a monastic or a householder - must act and live for the Lord, without being emotionally involved in His drama or creation."

These words were timely for two reasons. I have been reviewing Dr. Douglas Brooks' book - Poised for Grace, an annotated commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, from a Tantric perspective in preparation for a workshop he will be giving on this very topic this coming weekend. It so happens that Yogananda's comments are also on the Gita. Furthermore, the issues that have resulted in my feeling out of sorts have to deal with attachments and not letting go of the fruits of my actions.

And so I thought, we may not always get what we want - but we always get what we need as a message from the Beyond, here in our midst...

I found myself driving over to meet a dear soul friend with a heavy heart. As often as we can, we walk the labyrinth together, meditate, and update each other on our lives. Today, after our walk and meditation, we reflected on various challenges we were experiencing, and our heart to heart sharing yielded many fruitful and touching insights for me - truly blessings received as gifts in my heart and soul!

When I finished my walk, and was waiting for my friend to complete her own labyrinth walk, I picked up a little meditation card with this inscribed verse from Psalm 37:7:

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..."

The words were so simple, but so appropriate. A drawing of a little cup accompanied the verse, and my dear friend smiled, noting how wonderful that a cup of tea was included. I of course, corrected her and observed it was a cup of coffee. We have shared so deeply over the years, often sipping on a cup of tea or coffee, depending on the place or the season...

We also spoke for a bit about my various writing projects - some of which are on hold right now. My friend reminded me, that if I never wrote another word again, there was still a very sizeable body of work, that she referred to as "a cup of beauty." I was profoundly touched by that description, and it reminded me of another dear friend who likes to refer to my work as my "offerings."

I rode home, feeling more fortified and grounded - having almost greedily absorbed the energy of our shared meditation into my very essence...

The sky was definitely looking very wintry again, and a few flurries floated here and there. I have loved the abundance of snow we have gotten this year. I drove down to the river, and walked to the boat launch. The waters have retreated and they were perfectly still - just a few beautiful and majestic birds gliding effortlessly on its surface...

I enjoyed the stillness down by the riverbank inviting me to let go of my personal attachments to drama and unnecessary things in life...

I told my friend, that every night, at the end of the day, I like to visualize all my good deeds in a pot, and those I am less proud of - in a pot as well. As I review the events of the day, I ask myself - have you added more to the pot of good deeds? I hope that at the end of my life, the contents of one pot will far outweigh the contents of the latter...I believe my friend's compassion and insights today certainly were solid contributions to her pot of good deeds.

Every day offers us miracles and opportunities to deepen our spiritual work, and today, was that kind of a day.

Did You Find Joy? Did you bring Joy?

I began my yoga class this cold winter morning by asking my students - do you feel joy in your life? Do you give joy to others?

Ancient Egyptians believed two questions determined whether or not they would be allowed to proceed on to the afterlife:

Did you find joy?
Did you bring joy?

I read this a few years ago and was very moved by the questions, because it made me reflect on my own life. Years later I noticed a reference to these very questions in the movie "The Bucket List" with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson - two men dying of cancer who go on a journey of truly living their dreams and re-discovering joy in the final months of their lives.

But the truth is, we do not have to wait for a death sentence to experience joy. We can begin - right here - right now. We can begin to experience, embody, and reflect joy in this very moment.

All Anusara Yoga students are taught and know that there are two reasons for practicing yoga:

1. Self knowledge - "chit" - for our awakening, and
2. Ananda - for bliss - for the sheer delight and joy of it!

While personal practice is important - I enjoy yoga most when it is shared in community. Last Friday, the Willow Street Yoga community came together for a candlelight practice that was a benefit for Haiti and the earthquake victims. It was both an inspirational time and joyful occasion for those present, even if the event that gave rise to it was not.

The Buddha taught that each one of us is given 10,000 sorrows, and 10,000 joys. We cannot connect with and access those joys if we do not first connect with our hearts.

So today, give intent to find joy and embody joy - so that you can share that joy with others!

To help you do this, take a moment to do this exercise:

Close your eyes - and focus on your heart. Visualize a beautiful green light that nurtures and bathes your heart in pure love. Take a deep breath in - and as you exhale - say "YUMMMMM" in one long syllable.

Feel the sound vibration in your body and notice the energy flowing effortlessly from the base of your spine to your heart, inviting the currents of joy to bathe you. Can you feel the joy within your heart? And can you share it? And can you make your little corner of the world a better place today? Of course you can!

Final Reflections on Friendship

Yesterday, while I was on my way to my weekly yoga class, I heard Barbara J. King interviewed on her new book, Being With Animals. She is an anthropologist teaching at William and Mary, and she had some fascinating things to share about the friendship between human beings and their animals, but most especially about the relationships and connections that exist among animals themselves.

For example, King studied apes in Kenya while working on her dissertation, and she observed that when one of the apes died, the rest of the community allowed the closest member of the family or friend, private time to grieve and be alone with the body before any others. King also pointed out that elephants often caress the bones of what we would consider to be a loved one, even after not having visited a particular area for a long time. They have the ability to recognize the remains of other elephants they were connected with, and knew where those remains were located.

I was fascinated by the stories King shared - and how the urge to connect with others is a phenomenon evident in so many species of living things. I reflected on these insights as I went for an evening walk at twilight - with the moon looming like a huge china plate in front of me - and the bright orange sun merging incandescently with the horizon behind me.

This desire to know and be known - to love - and be loved - to have true companionship is something Paramahansa Yogananda spoke so eloquently about, as you may have noticed from my last two entries. So now, I will share some final passages from his writings.

Note that Yogananda also speaks of the importance of finding friends from one incarnation to another. Whether one actually believes in the transmigration of souls or not - does not really matter. I think we all would agree that some soul connections are so strongly felt that they defy any kind of explanation. We have all had the experience of meeting certain souls that we feel we have known forever - just as there are some that we are distrustful of - or wary of - from our first encounter...

"It takes character to be able to apologize graciously and sincerely...

How can I learn to love my enemies? Meditation fills one with Divine Love, which enables one to love one's enemies...

Always remember that you need the inspiration of better company - of those more highly evolved than yourself - to keep constantly improving...

Make every effort to rediscover your friends of past incarnations. Try to resume such friendships, and perfect them into divine friendship...

One may come in daily contact with some people and yet not feel in sympathy with them. You have to adapt yourself to such persons and learn to love them...

When friends are very near to you, draw them into the orbit of your life...

Do not be deceived by physical beauty...An unattractive body may harbor the soul of a real friend...

Seek your friends of past incarnations in order that you may continue your friendship with them in this life, and perfect it into divine friendship...

Friendship is the universal spiritual attraction that unites souls in the bond of divine love...

When divine friendship reigns supreme in the temple of your heart, your soul will merge with the vast Cosmic Soul...

Making others happy, through kindness of speech and sincerity of right advice, is a sign of true greatness...

Friendship is pure by nature...Divine love is unlimited and Infinite..."

Today, give thanks for your true friends - especially those that have been there - no matter what - who have stood by you and accepted you - despite your warts and limitations - and loved you nonetheless. What greater example do you need of Divine Presence and Love?