On this last day of the month of April and a magnificent spring, some words of wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda on the subject and true source of happiness:
"In a time of misfortune I heard Thy voice, saying:
'The sun of My protection shines equally on thy
brightest and thy blackest hours. Have faith and
smile! Sadness is an offense against the blissful
nature of Spirit. Let My life-transforming light appear
through the transparency of smiles. By being happy,
My child, thou doest please Me.'"
"The laughter of the infinite God must vibrate
through your smile. Let the breeze of His love spread
your smiles in the hearts of men. Their fire will be
contagious."
"You have the power to hurt yourself or to benefit
yourself...If you do not choose to be happy no one
can make you happy. Do not blame God for that!
And if you choose to be happy, no one can make you
unhappy...It is we who make of life what it is."
"A strong determination to be happy will help you.
Do not wait for the circumstances to change, thinking
falsely that in them lies trouble.
Do not make unhappiness a chronic habit, thereby
afflicting yourself and your associates. It is blessedness
for yourself and other if you are happy.
If you possess happiness you possess everything;
to be happy is to be in tune with God. That power to
be happy comes through meditation."
"Daily I will seek happiness more and more within
my mind, and less and less through material pleasures."
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Opening the Heart
As I review, revise, and expand my notes for an forthcoming workshop I will be offering at Willow Street Yoga, in Takoma Park, MD, on June 7, titled - "Balancing the Chakras with Asanas and Healing Practices," I am amazed at how we often teach what we need to know or revisit.
As I journey through the individual chakras - the seven major energy centers we have in our bodies - I am essentially reviewing much of my life, my tendencies, my weaknesses, and my strengths.
I am excited to have this opportunity to do this workshop and take it in a slightly different direction than when I offered it previously. There is so much more material available that makes the chakra system and what contributes to its imbalance much more accessible. And I can now share many more practical and specific suggestions for achieving a more balanced energy system that I did before.
Yes - we teach and review what we need to learn - or perhaps embody on a deeper level...
As I reviewed the Chakra Balancing workbook by Anodea Judith, I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of this book and found much that hit close to home. Here are some things she shares on the fourth chakra - the heart - which balances the three upper and lower chakras:
"Gratitude invites the heart to open. To truly realize how much we are given in this life is to be flooded with divine love...
Forgiveness is an important...essential practice of the heart chakra. It frees the heart from the past so it can move forward into the present and the future...It softens our heart and relaxes the patterns that keep us from receiving what is available to us in the present moment...
Now that we have awakened the fires of our will, we are ready to enter the sacred and tender realm of the heart. Here lies the very center of the chakra system as well as the heart of our being, the chamber from which we give and receive love...
Love is the essence of life. It is the ultimate healer, the most potent teacher...
The Sanskrit name for this chakra is "Anahata," meaning "unstruck" or "unhurt". To open the heart is to treat others with honor and respect and refrain from causing unnecessary harm...
An open heart feels compassion and empathy for both self and others. It understands the tender nature of spirit, the delightful joy of connection, and the deep peace of acceptance. The heart's task is to find balance in relationship in all aspects: mind and body, self and other, light and shadow, masculine and feminine, inner and outer realms. the result of this balance is peace...
Working with the breath is a powerful way to cleanse the body...and dissolve blocks that keep our heart from opening. This invites the heart to soften, to become spacious, and to receive the life-giving properties of "prana."
To open this chakra is to dissolve the illusion of separateness and the needs of the ego. It is to open yourself to loving more deeply and to falling in love with life itself. Ultimately, this chakra begins a passionate love affair with divine spirit and all of its infinitely perfect manifestations."
For more information on the many wonderful workshops being offered at Willow Street Yoga:
www.willowstreetyoga.com
As I journey through the individual chakras - the seven major energy centers we have in our bodies - I am essentially reviewing much of my life, my tendencies, my weaknesses, and my strengths.
I am excited to have this opportunity to do this workshop and take it in a slightly different direction than when I offered it previously. There is so much more material available that makes the chakra system and what contributes to its imbalance much more accessible. And I can now share many more practical and specific suggestions for achieving a more balanced energy system that I did before.
Yes - we teach and review what we need to learn - or perhaps embody on a deeper level...
As I reviewed the Chakra Balancing workbook by Anodea Judith, I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of this book and found much that hit close to home. Here are some things she shares on the fourth chakra - the heart - which balances the three upper and lower chakras:
"Gratitude invites the heart to open. To truly realize how much we are given in this life is to be flooded with divine love...
Forgiveness is an important...essential practice of the heart chakra. It frees the heart from the past so it can move forward into the present and the future...It softens our heart and relaxes the patterns that keep us from receiving what is available to us in the present moment...
Now that we have awakened the fires of our will, we are ready to enter the sacred and tender realm of the heart. Here lies the very center of the chakra system as well as the heart of our being, the chamber from which we give and receive love...
Love is the essence of life. It is the ultimate healer, the most potent teacher...
The Sanskrit name for this chakra is "Anahata," meaning "unstruck" or "unhurt". To open the heart is to treat others with honor and respect and refrain from causing unnecessary harm...
An open heart feels compassion and empathy for both self and others. It understands the tender nature of spirit, the delightful joy of connection, and the deep peace of acceptance. The heart's task is to find balance in relationship in all aspects: mind and body, self and other, light and shadow, masculine and feminine, inner and outer realms. the result of this balance is peace...
Working with the breath is a powerful way to cleanse the body...and dissolve blocks that keep our heart from opening. This invites the heart to soften, to become spacious, and to receive the life-giving properties of "prana."
To open this chakra is to dissolve the illusion of separateness and the needs of the ego. It is to open yourself to loving more deeply and to falling in love with life itself. Ultimately, this chakra begins a passionate love affair with divine spirit and all of its infinitely perfect manifestations."
For more information on the many wonderful workshops being offered at Willow Street Yoga:
www.willowstreetyoga.com
Monday, April 28, 2008
Gratitude, Blessings, and Inner Spiral
Inner Spiral is the third of the Anusara Yoga Universal Principles of Alignment. You create an opening and widening in the body by taking the femur bones in, back, and apart.
I thought of how "Opening to Grace," the First Principle - creates the initial opening in the body. Then with the Second Principle - "Muscular Energy" - we hug into that sweetness.
I then realized how working with Inner Spiral would create a greater opening for blessings and gratitude to flow into our lives - which is my theme for the week. The practice itself, is an opportunity to embody gratitude and count one's many blessings in life.
As I reflected on my syllabus and practiced it several times, I received insights as to how to do some self assists to embody the action of Inner Spiral. I was excited as I allowed my body to slowly soak in the subtle, but wonderful experiences these assists provided...
I ended my classes with the song, "Prayer 2000" by Eliza Gilkyson, from her 1997 album, "Redemption Road." It is a beautiful piece my own teacher played one Thanksgiving in her classes. This song truly exemplifies gratitude, and it has brought me great solace these many months, reminding me of all the goodness and rich experiences that life has to offer.
From Gilkyson's web site:
"'Redemption Road'...is the story of a woman's odyssey through love, disillusionment, and self-reflection to find her voice. 'I was working with the concept of redemption on this recording, not in the religious sense, but more on the personal level.'"
Here are the lyrics to "Prayer 2000". May it elicit many reasons for you to count your blessings!
Thank you for the sun
Thank you for the full moon
Thank you for my true love's face
And our lives and love consumed.
Thank you for the stars
A home along the river
Thank you for the ancient groves
And the fishes brown and silver
Ponies running wild
Grass enough for grazing
Water flowing clean and pure
All the beauty that saved me
Thank you for the dawn
Oceans rise and falling
Children born to carry on
And the end that's always calling
Thank you for the songs
Thank you for all my good laughs
All the things that don't go wrong
And the hopes that don't give up
Thank you for my tears
Loved ones who forgave me
Thank you for my darkest years
All the sorrow that made me
Thank you for my tears
Loved ones who forgave me
Thank you for my darkest years
All the sorrow that made me
And the beauty that saved me
To hear or purchase this beautiful song, go to this link:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/gilkyson1
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Silence as Language of the Heart
In his book, The Spiritual Practices of Rumi, Will Johnson writes the following:
"The Sufis have a beautiful word for the mystical communion that two openhearted practitioners can enter into when they come into each other's presence.
They call this communion and sharing sohbet...
The word has most often been thought of as an extended mystical conversation in which two seekers after God come together and speak openly to each other about mystical matters...
In the purest shohbet, words are not used as the medium of communication...The primary language of the heart is silence."
And these verses from Rumi:
"Be silent.
If someone tells you there is no speech possible
Without words or sounds,
Don't listen to him. It's not true.
Be silent.
Without the bread of God
And the wine of annihilation, that word and that
Alphabet are like two or three empty cups at best.
Be silent.
Speak the meaning without the alphabet.
If you can,
Say it without words, so the heart
Can take over the conversation."
"All our lives we've looked
Into each other's faces.
That was the case today too.
How do we keep our love a secret?
We speak from brow to brow
And hear with our eyes."
"Even 'friend' and 'beloved'
Are wrong words for this.
Even 'ahhhhh' retreats back into my mouth
Like the moon going behind a cloud.
A pure silent look is better."
"In the silence of our longing
We are together as one.
But as soon as we start talking,
We separate into two.
So be silent.
There is honor in silence.
For you and me."
"You have spent your whole life
With elegant speeches.
For some time you should
Walk alone in the gardens of silence."
"What would happen if you
Gave up thought for one moment,
Plunged into our sea like a fish,
And swallowed the waves there?
Give them up...
And turn into a holy light,
Silent, exempt from thought.
Why don't you become like this?"
And two more!
"Thought doesn't come to your mind
Until you become quiet.
Heart doesn't open its mouth
Until you close yours."
"Tell my secret with your eyes,
Without lips or tongues."
"The Sufis have a beautiful word for the mystical communion that two openhearted practitioners can enter into when they come into each other's presence.
They call this communion and sharing sohbet...
The word has most often been thought of as an extended mystical conversation in which two seekers after God come together and speak openly to each other about mystical matters...
In the purest shohbet, words are not used as the medium of communication...The primary language of the heart is silence."
And these verses from Rumi:
"Be silent.
If someone tells you there is no speech possible
Without words or sounds,
Don't listen to him. It's not true.
Be silent.
Without the bread of God
And the wine of annihilation, that word and that
Alphabet are like two or three empty cups at best.
Be silent.
Speak the meaning without the alphabet.
If you can,
Say it without words, so the heart
Can take over the conversation."
"All our lives we've looked
Into each other's faces.
That was the case today too.
How do we keep our love a secret?
We speak from brow to brow
And hear with our eyes."
"Even 'friend' and 'beloved'
Are wrong words for this.
Even 'ahhhhh' retreats back into my mouth
Like the moon going behind a cloud.
A pure silent look is better."
"In the silence of our longing
We are together as one.
But as soon as we start talking,
We separate into two.
So be silent.
There is honor in silence.
For you and me."
"You have spent your whole life
With elegant speeches.
For some time you should
Walk alone in the gardens of silence."
"What would happen if you
Gave up thought for one moment,
Plunged into our sea like a fish,
And swallowed the waves there?
Give them up...
And turn into a holy light,
Silent, exempt from thought.
Why don't you become like this?"
And two more!
"Thought doesn't come to your mind
Until you become quiet.
Heart doesn't open its mouth
Until you close yours."
"Tell my secret with your eyes,
Without lips or tongues."
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Stillness and Silence
In the book, Stillness Speaks, Eckhart Tolle presents some incredible gems of insights delivered in a "sutra" like fashion, so reminiscent of ancient yogic and Hindu texts:
"Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it.
How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being.
Allow nature to teach you stillness."
"When you look at a tree and perceive its stillness,
you become still yourself.
You connect with it at a very deep level.
You feel a oneness with whatever
you perceive in and through stillness.
Feeling the oneness of yourself
with all things is true love."
"Silence is helpful, but you don't need it in order to find stillness.
Even when there is noise, you can be aware of the stillness
underneath the noise, of the space in which the noise arises.
That is the inner space of pure awareness, consciousness itself."
I pondered the depths of these insights and juxtaposed them with some of Rumi's verses, taken from the book, The Spiritual Practices of Rumi: Radical Techniques for Beholding the Divine, by Will Johnson.
This book explores both the silence and stillness that is implied and necessary when one is gazing at the Beloved:
"Friend sits by Friend,
and the tablets appear.
They read the mysteries
off each other's forehead."
In order to know the Divine - we must be willing to dive deep into stillness and silence...
"Come to the sea of charm and beauty.
Arrive at the mind of Union.
Gaze into the drunken eyes of that real beauty...
Dive into that sea which is full of glory.
Plunge into these languid eyes..."
"Thousand of times I ran away from you
Like an arrow is thrown by the bow,
And thousands of times I was caught again
As prey by your hunting eyes."
"The beauty of Love is the merger
Of the lover with the Beloved.
Come on now! Mix each other
Like butter and flour,
Just like thick soup
Which can't be separated."
This merger of lover and Beloved transpires most perfectly in stillness and silence. But tomorrow I will explore Rumi's specific teachings on silence as it is more amply treated in Will Johnson's chapter on "Language of the Heart" from the Spiritual Practices of Rumi.
"Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it.
How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being.
Allow nature to teach you stillness."
"When you look at a tree and perceive its stillness,
you become still yourself.
You connect with it at a very deep level.
You feel a oneness with whatever
you perceive in and through stillness.
Feeling the oneness of yourself
with all things is true love."
"Silence is helpful, but you don't need it in order to find stillness.
Even when there is noise, you can be aware of the stillness
underneath the noise, of the space in which the noise arises.
That is the inner space of pure awareness, consciousness itself."
I pondered the depths of these insights and juxtaposed them with some of Rumi's verses, taken from the book, The Spiritual Practices of Rumi: Radical Techniques for Beholding the Divine, by Will Johnson.
This book explores both the silence and stillness that is implied and necessary when one is gazing at the Beloved:
"Friend sits by Friend,
and the tablets appear.
They read the mysteries
off each other's forehead."
In order to know the Divine - we must be willing to dive deep into stillness and silence...
"Come to the sea of charm and beauty.
Arrive at the mind of Union.
Gaze into the drunken eyes of that real beauty...
Dive into that sea which is full of glory.
Plunge into these languid eyes..."
"Thousand of times I ran away from you
Like an arrow is thrown by the bow,
And thousands of times I was caught again
As prey by your hunting eyes."
"The beauty of Love is the merger
Of the lover with the Beloved.
Come on now! Mix each other
Like butter and flour,
Just like thick soup
Which can't be separated."
This merger of lover and Beloved transpires most perfectly in stillness and silence. But tomorrow I will explore Rumi's specific teachings on silence as it is more amply treated in Will Johnson's chapter on "Language of the Heart" from the Spiritual Practices of Rumi.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Connecting to Joy
At the end of yesterday's entry I spoke of inviting my students to experience a greater awakening and joy in their practice.
At the end of his recent newsletter, Todd Norian, a Senior Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher makes these suggestions for connecting with joy if you are having a bad day or simply can't experience joy in the present moment:
1. Take a time-out from the activity of your day.
2. Do some yoga in a quiet, uncluttered space.
3. Ride the waves of your breath as you move and stretch.
4. Give your mind a time-out from having to figure everything out...
5. Go into your right brain and merge with the flow of breath and body sensation.. Be in the Present Moment for at least 20 - 30 minutes a day.
6. Consciously choose to open to Grace and turn it over to the Divine.
7. At the end of your practice, sit in total silence for a couple of minutes and receive the blessing of the Divine. Then repeat these affirmations to yourself several times:
I am worthy.
I am great.
I have the seeds of greatness inside my heart.
I am one of a kind.
I am an original.
I am a masterpiece of the Divine in living form.
I have the DNA of the Divine.
My worth comes from the inside.
Everything I touch prospers.
I have everything I need already inside of me.
The Universe is always pointing the way for me.
Everything that happens in my life is for my awakening.
As I reflected on these suggestions for connecting with joy, I recalled that ancient Egyptians, at their passing, were asked two questions before they could be admitted to the afterlife:
Did you find joy?
Did you bring joy?
If they could not answer "yes" to either one of these - these ancient Egyptians were not deemed worthy of the afterlife.
Yogananda taught that happiness is a conscious choice we make. Only we can hurt ourselves, and if we do not choose to be happy - no one will be able to make us happy.
All of this is so similar to what Eckhart Tolle has been saying in A New Earth.
Go out and experience joy in some form or another - at least once during this magnificent day!
At the end of his recent newsletter, Todd Norian, a Senior Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher makes these suggestions for connecting with joy if you are having a bad day or simply can't experience joy in the present moment:
1. Take a time-out from the activity of your day.
2. Do some yoga in a quiet, uncluttered space.
3. Ride the waves of your breath as you move and stretch.
4. Give your mind a time-out from having to figure everything out...
5. Go into your right brain and merge with the flow of breath and body sensation.. Be in the Present Moment for at least 20 - 30 minutes a day.
6. Consciously choose to open to Grace and turn it over to the Divine.
7. At the end of your practice, sit in total silence for a couple of minutes and receive the blessing of the Divine. Then repeat these affirmations to yourself several times:
I am worthy.
I am great.
I have the seeds of greatness inside my heart.
I am one of a kind.
I am an original.
I am a masterpiece of the Divine in living form.
I have the DNA of the Divine.
My worth comes from the inside.
Everything I touch prospers.
I have everything I need already inside of me.
The Universe is always pointing the way for me.
Everything that happens in my life is for my awakening.
As I reflected on these suggestions for connecting with joy, I recalled that ancient Egyptians, at their passing, were asked two questions before they could be admitted to the afterlife:
Did you find joy?
Did you bring joy?
If they could not answer "yes" to either one of these - these ancient Egyptians were not deemed worthy of the afterlife.
Yogananda taught that happiness is a conscious choice we make. Only we can hurt ourselves, and if we do not choose to be happy - no one will be able to make us happy.
All of this is so similar to what Eckhart Tolle has been saying in A New Earth.
Go out and experience joy in some form or another - at least once during this magnificent day!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Art of Theme-ing
Every new yoga term, my teacher picks an over-arching theme for the session. Last term it was: "The Sky is the Limit." This session it is: "Everything is Pulsation."
Yesterday I heard from a new friend I made in Sarasota - a very talented yogini - who shared that her theme for the week was freedom. She focused on the inner and outer spiral of the arms and used birds as a metaphor to teach the action of the rotation of the arms.
I am always fascinated by the themes that my friends and fellow teaching colleagues choose to explore in their yoga classes. It is truly a work of art to weave themes into one's classes flawlessly, and we all do it in unique ways. Some teachers truly have a gift for doing this.
What many do not realize - is that it takes a tremendous amount of effort to weave themes into a class - and to sequence a class according to the theme and the action and principle of alignment you want to focus on. It can make a difference between a class that is merely one that is physical - and one that is truly inspirational - and that shifts you energetically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I always typically begin and end a session with the theme: "Opening to Grace" and what it means. This week I chose to focus on how this first principle of the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment leads to awakening. And conversely, how we cannot awaken if there is not first an opening, softening, or receptivity on our parts.
I chose to adjust my students in a variety of poses so that they could feel them differently - perhaps even experience poses they have done time and time again in a new way. I was able to do this because I have small groups which allows me to be more attentive to them individually.
I marvel at the ability to deepen our spirituality through a practice that involves our bodies. As I told my students, even King David, in the Hebrew scriptures, danced before the Ark of the Covenant.
My own teacher this week, referred to the Spandakarikas - a classic Tantric text often translated as the "Song of the Sacred Tremor." This text recognizes that everything in the Universe is consciousness and everything teems with pulsation - or vibration - something quantum physics both recognizes and asserts.
This reading was shared at the end of my class and it comes from Daniel Odier's commentary in the book by him - Yoga Spandakarika: The Sacred Texts at the Origin of Tantra:
"The supreme state is not found outside of oneself, but is the original and intimate nature of our being. To abandon all seeking is the only way we can relax ourselves enough that the realization of our innate nature can flower. Desire freed from its state of tension no longer goes toward things, but everything quickens within desire like a continuous offering. This is the essence of the heart of the yoginis, the teaching of the simple fact of the beauty that pours out within us like the earth receives the moon, the sun, and the rain, in the continuous sacred tremor of vibrating and living matter. There is nothing inanimate. All is radiating sacred tremoring - people, mountains, rivers, and emotions. The clouds and the body are atoms bound by wonder, like the sky uniting the stars."
What a wonderful reminder that everything is teeming with life! I thought of this - this morning, as I spent a long time at the river doing my meditations. Even the light seemed more vibrant. The sun shone in my eyes very brightly and the birds seemed more joyous than ever. I marveled at the very diminutive purple flowers growing in the grass that could easily be overlooked and I thought to myself - what wonderful and delicate manifestations of the Divine!
As I ended classes this week, I shared with my students some of the insights from Todd Norian's Newsletter that I referred to earlier this week, as I invited them to soften more deeply this season, feeling the connection to the abundant flow of the Universe and the joy that it continually offers!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Blessings III
And here is one last blessing from John O' Donohue's book - To Bless The Space Between Us - A Book of Blessings.
May these words bless your day and surround you with angels!
A Blessing of Angels
May the Angels in their beauty bless you.
May they turn toward you streams of blessing.
May the Angel of Awakening stir your heart
To come alive to the eternal within you.
To all the invitations that quietly surround you.
May the Angel of Healing turn your wounds
Into sources of refreshment.
May the Angel of the Imagination enable you
To stand on the true thresholds,
At ease with your ambivalence
And drawn in new directions
Through the glow of your contradictions.
May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes
To the unseen suffering around you.
May the Angel of Wildness disturb the places
Where your life is domesticated and safe,
Take you to the territories of otherness
Where all that is awkward in you
Can fall into its own rhythm.
May the Angel of Eros introduce you
To the beauty of your senses
To celebrate your inheritance
As a temple of the holy spirit.
May the Angel of Justice disturb you
To take the side of the poor and the wronged.
May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you
In worth and self-respect,
That you may live with the dignity
That presides in your soul.
May the Angel of Death arrive only
When your life is complete
And you have brought every given gift
To the threshold where its infinity can shine.
May all the Angels be your sheltering
And joyful guardians.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The River in Early Spring
I went down to the river this morning after an absence of over a week. We have been having a lot of rain and the river was flooded beyond its banks and purging debris. But it was beautiful to see the leaves beginning to unfurl and open to the touch, the warmth, and love of the new season!
The river and I have been steadfast companions these many months. I thought of this as I did my Lovingkindness and Reiki meditations...
I thought of the many experiences I have had over the last few months - some difficult, some unexpected, and yet the many instances of love and grace. I marveled at the many gifts received and opportunities that have arisen - all sent by the Divine...
These blessing from John O' Donohue's To Bless the Space Between Us, seem appropriate here:
Excerpts taken from - For An Exile
Now is the time to hold faithful
To your dream, to understand
That this is an interim time
Full of awkward disconnection.
Gradually you will come to find
Your way to friends who will open
Doors into a new belonging
Your heart will brighten
With new discovery,
Your presence will unclench
And find ease,
Letting your substance
And promise be seen.
Slowly a new world will open for you.
The eyes of your heart, refined
By this desert time, will be free
To see and celebrate the new life
For which you sacrificed everything.
To Come Home To Yourself
May all that is unforgiven in you
Be released.
May your fears yield
Their deepest tranquillities.
May all that is unlived in you
Blossom into a future
Graced with love.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Blessings II
Here are some excerpts from different blessings from the book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, by John O' Donohue...
Blessed be the longing that brought you here
And quickens your soul with wonder...
May your listening be attuned
To the deeper silence
Where sound is honed
To bring distance home.
May the fragrance
Of a breathing meadow
Refresh your heart
And remind you you are
A child of the earth...
May your inner eye
See through the surfaces
And glean the real presence
Of everything that meets you...
Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence...
May you listen to your longing to be free...
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world
to gather you, mind you, and embrace you in
belonging...
For Absence
May you know that absence is alive with hidden
presence, that nothing is ever lost or forgotten.
May the absences in your life grow full of eternal
echo.
May you sense around you the secret Elsewhere
where the presences that have left you dwell.
May you be generous in your embrace of loss.
May the sore well of grief turn into a seamless flow
of presence.
May your compassion reach out to the ones we never
hear from.
May you have the courage to speak for the excluded
ones.
May you become the gracious and passionate subject
of your own life.
May you not disrespect your mystery through brittle
words or false belonging.
May you be embraced by God in who dawn and
twilight are one..
May your longing inhabit its dreams within the
Great Belonging.
For Friendship
May you be blessed with good friends,
And learn to be a good friend yourself,
Journeying to that place in your soul where
There is love, warmth, and feeling.
May this change you.
May it transfigure what is negative, distant,
Or cold within your heart.
May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging.
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receive all the challenges, truth, and light
you need.
May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam cara.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Blessings
Last night I curled up with the book - To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings - by John O' Donohue.
John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, recently shared at the teacher training that I attended, that to bless our students is a very powerful and important practice.
I have a friend who always signs her letters "Blessings." I have several other friends who do this regularly as well. John Friend signs his emails and newsletters in the same way. I have always sensed the power of words sent as a blessing.
John O' Donohue says this in his book:
"When a blessing is being invoked, time deepens until it becomes a source from which refreshment and encouragement are released...
Whenever one person takes another into the care of their heart, they have the power to bless...
It is such a privilege to have people who continue each day to bless us with their love and prayer. These inner friends of the heart confer on us inestimable gifts...There is such unusual beauty in having friends who practice profound faithfulness to us, praying for us each day without our ever knowing or remembering it...It is not a luxury to have such friends; it is necessary...
The beauty of the world is the first witness to blessing. In a land without blessing, no beauty could dwell...
While blessing is an act of the senses expressed in word and gesture, the source and destination of blessing remain invisible...
What is a blessing? A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal, and strengthen...The beauty of blessing is its belief that it can affect what unfolds...
Our longing for the eternal kindles our imagination to bless...Regardless of how we configure the eternal, the human heart continues to dream of a state of wholeness, a place where everything comes together, where loss will be made good, where blindness will transform into vision, where damage will be made whole, where the clenched question will open in the house of surprise, where the travails of a life's journey will enjoy a homecoming. To invoke a blessing is to call some of that wholeness upon a person now...
A blessing is a form of grace; it is invisible. Grace is the permanent climate of divine kindness. There are no limits to it...For one who believes in it, a blessing can signal the start of the journey of transformation..."
I will share some beautiful lines from O' Donohue's blessings tomorrow, but here is his blessing and prayer for the morning, which I imbibe, as I write on this rainy, and slow, Sunday morning, full of love and grace:
"I arise today
In the name of Silence
Womb of the Word,
In the name of Stillness
Home of Belonging,
In the name of the Solitude
Of the Soul and the Earth
I arise today
Blessed by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of the eyes,
Wonder of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God
May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love."
May you and your loved ones - be blessed!
John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, recently shared at the teacher training that I attended, that to bless our students is a very powerful and important practice.
I have a friend who always signs her letters "Blessings." I have several other friends who do this regularly as well. John Friend signs his emails and newsletters in the same way. I have always sensed the power of words sent as a blessing.
John O' Donohue says this in his book:
"When a blessing is being invoked, time deepens until it becomes a source from which refreshment and encouragement are released...
Whenever one person takes another into the care of their heart, they have the power to bless...
It is such a privilege to have people who continue each day to bless us with their love and prayer. These inner friends of the heart confer on us inestimable gifts...There is such unusual beauty in having friends who practice profound faithfulness to us, praying for us each day without our ever knowing or remembering it...It is not a luxury to have such friends; it is necessary...
The beauty of the world is the first witness to blessing. In a land without blessing, no beauty could dwell...
While blessing is an act of the senses expressed in word and gesture, the source and destination of blessing remain invisible...
What is a blessing? A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal, and strengthen...The beauty of blessing is its belief that it can affect what unfolds...
Our longing for the eternal kindles our imagination to bless...Regardless of how we configure the eternal, the human heart continues to dream of a state of wholeness, a place where everything comes together, where loss will be made good, where blindness will transform into vision, where damage will be made whole, where the clenched question will open in the house of surprise, where the travails of a life's journey will enjoy a homecoming. To invoke a blessing is to call some of that wholeness upon a person now...
A blessing is a form of grace; it is invisible. Grace is the permanent climate of divine kindness. There are no limits to it...For one who believes in it, a blessing can signal the start of the journey of transformation..."
I will share some beautiful lines from O' Donohue's blessings tomorrow, but here is his blessing and prayer for the morning, which I imbibe, as I write on this rainy, and slow, Sunday morning, full of love and grace:
"I arise today
In the name of Silence
Womb of the Word,
In the name of Stillness
Home of Belonging,
In the name of the Solitude
Of the Soul and the Earth
I arise today
Blessed by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of the eyes,
Wonder of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God
May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love."
May you and your loved ones - be blessed!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Inspiration, Expansion, and Grace
I have spent the day reviewing so much of the recent training I did in Sarasota, and have been experiencing one "aha!" moment after another.
I also got caught on emails and read Todd Norian's newsletter. Todd is a senior certified Anusara Yoga Teacher.
I had the pleasure of experiencing his teaching at the end of March. He also assisted me in a number of poses at that time. At one point, I thanked him for his newsletters which I have always found to be very inspirational. Todd is a very sweet, loving, and humble soul - and it shows in his teaching.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Todd when he was at Willow Street Yoga in Silver Spring, MD, recently. As I read his comments, I realized that I have felt that way after teaching my own classes and workshops. And his comments echoed many of the sentiments of this past week for me as well. Todd spoke of coming back home totally inspired after having taught the workshop I attended. It was truly special for me - as I know it was for others as well.
This is was Todd wrote:
"The weekend was full of Grace and effortlessness. Each class was filled to the brim with eager, bright-eyed students and teachers hungry for inspiration. The depth of dedication and studentship blew me away. I felt so blessed to be able to teach there. It was an ideal environment to offer what I had to give.
The students' longing drew something deeper out of me that I didn't even know I had. There was such cohesion within the group, so much willingness to try new things. Everyone supported each other to take their practice to the next level...
I allowed my heart to expand with gratitude and I humbly received the joy all around me...I looked into the students' eyes and saw their beauty. I was able to receive the blessing of the Divine by taking in and really listening to the praise that was being expressed to me from the students.
I believe this is how we are designed to life, to be open to Grace and receive blessings from all of life. But YOU have to take the first step...You have to be willing to take a chance and step into the current of Grace. You have to discipline yourself to let go of the self-limiting voices inside and reach for new voices of truth and empowerment. You have to believe in something greater and expand your vision...
This season, may you soften and feel your connection to the abundant flow of the Universe. May you increase your joy by affirming the goodness in your life. May you expand your joy toleration level and touch new peaks of worthiness, happiness, and love..."
I also got caught on emails and read Todd Norian's newsletter. Todd is a senior certified Anusara Yoga Teacher.
I had the pleasure of experiencing his teaching at the end of March. He also assisted me in a number of poses at that time. At one point, I thanked him for his newsletters which I have always found to be very inspirational. Todd is a very sweet, loving, and humble soul - and it shows in his teaching.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Todd when he was at Willow Street Yoga in Silver Spring, MD, recently. As I read his comments, I realized that I have felt that way after teaching my own classes and workshops. And his comments echoed many of the sentiments of this past week for me as well. Todd spoke of coming back home totally inspired after having taught the workshop I attended. It was truly special for me - as I know it was for others as well.
This is was Todd wrote:
"The weekend was full of Grace and effortlessness. Each class was filled to the brim with eager, bright-eyed students and teachers hungry for inspiration. The depth of dedication and studentship blew me away. I felt so blessed to be able to teach there. It was an ideal environment to offer what I had to give.
The students' longing drew something deeper out of me that I didn't even know I had. There was such cohesion within the group, so much willingness to try new things. Everyone supported each other to take their practice to the next level...
I allowed my heart to expand with gratitude and I humbly received the joy all around me...I looked into the students' eyes and saw their beauty. I was able to receive the blessing of the Divine by taking in and really listening to the praise that was being expressed to me from the students.
I believe this is how we are designed to life, to be open to Grace and receive blessings from all of life. But YOU have to take the first step...You have to be willing to take a chance and step into the current of Grace. You have to discipline yourself to let go of the self-limiting voices inside and reach for new voices of truth and empowerment. You have to believe in something greater and expand your vision...
This season, may you soften and feel your connection to the abundant flow of the Universe. May you increase your joy by affirming the goodness in your life. May you expand your joy toleration level and touch new peaks of worthiness, happiness, and love..."
Friday, April 18, 2008
Love From Rumi
It is good to be back home after an incredible week of so much love and beauty - and cohesion - and union...
I am full to the brim and grateful for all of God's good gifts...
I end the day content and with beautiful melodies in my soul and poems by Rumi in my heart. I share this one...
Behind the Scenes
Is it your face
that adorns the garden?
Is it your fragrance
that intoxicates this garden?
It is your spirit
that has made this brook
a river of wine?
Hundreds have looked for you
and died searching
in this garden
where you hid behind the scenes.
But this pain is not for those
who come as lovers.
You are easy to fine here.
You are in the breeze
and in this river of wine.
Ahhh!
I am full to the brim and grateful for all of God's good gifts...
I end the day content and with beautiful melodies in my soul and poems by Rumi in my heart. I share this one...
Behind the Scenes
Is it your face
that adorns the garden?
Is it your fragrance
that intoxicates this garden?
It is your spirit
that has made this brook
a river of wine?
Hundreds have looked for you
and died searching
in this garden
where you hid behind the scenes.
But this pain is not for those
who come as lovers.
You are easy to fine here.
You are in the breeze
and in this river of wine.
Ahhh!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Art of Adjusting II
I have just concluded three days of one of the most exquisite yoga trainings I have ever done with John Friend - the founder of Anusara Yoga - on the art of adjusting.
The Anusara community here in Florida is nothing short of outstanding. It is truly one of the most vibrant and welcoming groups I have ever encountered. They are serious and dedicated practitioners with very big hearts and I feel totally at home among them.
The sequences of poses we worked on over the course of three days were masterfully designed to open us energetically in very deep ways. As I reflect back on the course of the three days I realize that no pose we worked on was an accident - not even the pose John chose to adjust me in during a demonstration. I recognize the pose was meant to root and ground me more deeply in a time of much change and evolution.
When I woke up this morning, I noticed I that I carried my body differently and that certain patterns of behaviors - or samskaras - had some how been subtly altered. I even wrote a friend saying I noticed more strength and confidence in myself. Interestingly enough, this is the feedback I received most often from those I assisted and worked with: "Your touch is strong, and confident!"
Every assist I received allowed me to go more deeply into some poses than I ever had and I felt the genuine love and compassion of all those present. which enabled this process as well.
I was amazed to see John work deeply and intuitively with a number of students. In one case, he was able to get a woman to move a limb that she had been unable to move. I also saw him make an adjustment to a pregnant woman that immediately calmed the baby in her womb. I was the witness to so many transformations and healings that were nothing short of miraculous!
My mind is currently reeling from all the information and experiences that will take me some time to process.
I would not be here - in this place - had it not been for my dear students - past and present - who have encouraged me to grow and made me want to become a better teacher - at whatever cost it may have taken.
I am blessed beyond words to be part of this community. It was a gift to spend these last three days with one of my first yoga teachers - in addition to the gifted teacher who owns the studio I now study at. And, of course, it was was especially a treat to share this experience with a dear yoga companion. Ultimately, we all journey on this path together.
Who could ask for anything more?
The Anusara community here in Florida is nothing short of outstanding. It is truly one of the most vibrant and welcoming groups I have ever encountered. They are serious and dedicated practitioners with very big hearts and I feel totally at home among them.
The sequences of poses we worked on over the course of three days were masterfully designed to open us energetically in very deep ways. As I reflect back on the course of the three days I realize that no pose we worked on was an accident - not even the pose John chose to adjust me in during a demonstration. I recognize the pose was meant to root and ground me more deeply in a time of much change and evolution.
When I woke up this morning, I noticed I that I carried my body differently and that certain patterns of behaviors - or samskaras - had some how been subtly altered. I even wrote a friend saying I noticed more strength and confidence in myself. Interestingly enough, this is the feedback I received most often from those I assisted and worked with: "Your touch is strong, and confident!"
Every assist I received allowed me to go more deeply into some poses than I ever had and I felt the genuine love and compassion of all those present. which enabled this process as well.
I was amazed to see John work deeply and intuitively with a number of students. In one case, he was able to get a woman to move a limb that she had been unable to move. I also saw him make an adjustment to a pregnant woman that immediately calmed the baby in her womb. I was the witness to so many transformations and healings that were nothing short of miraculous!
My mind is currently reeling from all the information and experiences that will take me some time to process.
I would not be here - in this place - had it not been for my dear students - past and present - who have encouraged me to grow and made me want to become a better teacher - at whatever cost it may have taken.
I am blessed beyond words to be part of this community. It was a gift to spend these last three days with one of my first yoga teachers - in addition to the gifted teacher who owns the studio I now study at. And, of course, it was was especially a treat to share this experience with a dear yoga companion. Ultimately, we all journey on this path together.
Who could ask for anything more?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Art of Adjusting
This morning I began the first of a three day training on "The Art of Adjusting" with John Friend - the founder of Anusara Yoga - in Sarasota, Florida.
The venue is the Mote Center and we are practicing in a room surrounded by glass walls overlooking the bay. It is absolutely exquisite!
This event is being hosted by my first yoga teacher - Betsey Downing, a wonderful yogini who gave the most inspirational welcome and introduction. I have known her for 13 years and it has been a beauty to behold how she has blossomed as both a teacher and practitioner - always in search of deeper knowledge and growth with a beginner's mind.
It has also been wonderful to see old friends and be warmly embraced by the Sarasota Anusara community whom I had the pleasure of teaching and studying with on several occasions in the last couple of years.
We came together as a community on this first day and opened our hearts to one other. By the afternoon, even our chanting was so in sync.
I want to share some of my notes from John Friend's opening comments:
Teachers are often not trained on how to adjust - and sometimes can engage in adjustments that are actually harmful.
As teachers, we are here to serve our students' awakening and delight. This should be the essence of how we touch. It starts with remembering that we are here to serve - so that every glance of our eyes, every word we speak, is manifested in our touch and in our highest intention to serve our students. This experience also contributes to our awakening. It is such a blessing to be a teacher and to help our students in this way.
So we start with the highest intention and with soft sensitivity. We open to something bigger and we look for the beauty in our students and in how they express their poses. We recognize the magnificent embodiment of the spirit before us in the form of our students - and then we seek to enhance the beautiful expression of their pose.
We say to our students: "Let me help you awaken. But may you help me awaken as well!"
More tomorrow...
The venue is the Mote Center and we are practicing in a room surrounded by glass walls overlooking the bay. It is absolutely exquisite!
This event is being hosted by my first yoga teacher - Betsey Downing, a wonderful yogini who gave the most inspirational welcome and introduction. I have known her for 13 years and it has been a beauty to behold how she has blossomed as both a teacher and practitioner - always in search of deeper knowledge and growth with a beginner's mind.
It has also been wonderful to see old friends and be warmly embraced by the Sarasota Anusara community whom I had the pleasure of teaching and studying with on several occasions in the last couple of years.
We came together as a community on this first day and opened our hearts to one other. By the afternoon, even our chanting was so in sync.
I want to share some of my notes from John Friend's opening comments:
Teachers are often not trained on how to adjust - and sometimes can engage in adjustments that are actually harmful.
As teachers, we are here to serve our students' awakening and delight. This should be the essence of how we touch. It starts with remembering that we are here to serve - so that every glance of our eyes, every word we speak, is manifested in our touch and in our highest intention to serve our students. This experience also contributes to our awakening. It is such a blessing to be a teacher and to help our students in this way.
So we start with the highest intention and with soft sensitivity. We open to something bigger and we look for the beauty in our students and in how they express their poses. We recognize the magnificent embodiment of the spirit before us in the form of our students - and then we seek to enhance the beautiful expression of their pose.
We say to our students: "Let me help you awaken. But may you help me awaken as well!"
More tomorrow...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Inner Space
I have arrived in Sarasota for a week to primarily spend my time at an Anusara Yoga teacher training on "The Art of Adjusting." Since arriving I have taken a yoga class locally at a wonderful studio - Garden of the Heart Yoga, and have already seen many friends. I am looking forward to soaking in new insights and being nourished during this training over the next few days. More to follow on that.
But for now - more from Eckhart Tolle and The New Earth:
"Space consciousness means that...there is an undercurrent of awareness. Awareness implies that you are not only conscious of things..but you are conscious of being conscious...
Whenever you are upset about an event, a person, or a situation, the real cause is not the event, person, or situation but a loss of true perspective that only space can provide. You are trapped in object consciousness, unaware of the timeless inner space of consciousness itself. The words 'this too, shall pass,' when used as a pointer can restore awareness of that dimension to you.
Another pointer to the truth in you is contained in the following statement: 'I am never upset for the reason I think...'
...It is from inner space, the unconditional consciousness itself that true happiness, the joy of Being, emanates. To be aware of little, quiet things, however, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen. Be present.
Here is another way of finding inner space: Become conscious of being conscious. Say or think 'I Am' and add nothing to it. Be aware of the stillness that follows the I Am. Sense your presence, the naked, unveiled, unclothed beingness..."
I read these words at the airport this morning and they packed a wallop. They provide a wonderful template for connecting with our inner landscapes. The spiritual practices while simple, are invaluable in helping us navigate through life's challenges and conflicts, and I will be savoring them for a long time to come...
But for now - more from Eckhart Tolle and The New Earth:
"Space consciousness means that...there is an undercurrent of awareness. Awareness implies that you are not only conscious of things..but you are conscious of being conscious...
Whenever you are upset about an event, a person, or a situation, the real cause is not the event, person, or situation but a loss of true perspective that only space can provide. You are trapped in object consciousness, unaware of the timeless inner space of consciousness itself. The words 'this too, shall pass,' when used as a pointer can restore awareness of that dimension to you.
Another pointer to the truth in you is contained in the following statement: 'I am never upset for the reason I think...'
...It is from inner space, the unconditional consciousness itself that true happiness, the joy of Being, emanates. To be aware of little, quiet things, however, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen. Be present.
Here is another way of finding inner space: Become conscious of being conscious. Say or think 'I Am' and add nothing to it. Be aware of the stillness that follows the I Am. Sense your presence, the naked, unveiled, unclothed beingness..."
I read these words at the airport this morning and they packed a wallop. They provide a wonderful template for connecting with our inner landscapes. The spiritual practices while simple, are invaluable in helping us navigate through life's challenges and conflicts, and I will be savoring them for a long time to come...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Joy of Being
The more I delve into Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth - the more I realize how there is really nothing new under the sun - for the essence of his teachings mirror the essence of not only quantum physics, but many classic spiritual texts of the Eastern tradition - including the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda, and the Reiki practices and teachings I am immersed in. It is wonderful to see how it all comes together - and how everything reinforces everything else. At the same time, I find myself making many connections on so many different levels. It's almost like coming home...
Eckhart Tolle tells the amazing story of seeing Stephen Hawking while he was a student at Cambridge and not knowing at first who he was. This brilliant theoretical physicist has lived with ALS for a long time. But once, while Tolle held a door open for him, he looked into his eyes and was struck by the clarity of them. Tolle was moved hearing that when asked about his life, Hawkings once responded: "Who could ask for more?"
Unhappiness or negativity - Tolle observes - is a disease on our planet. When we are dependent on what happens as a source for happiness - we are bound to be disappointed - for everything changes constantly. Instead, Tolle recommends:
"Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is deeper than any form and untouched by time.
The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person or event - through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you - ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with you who are."
I then thought of Yogananda, who teaches that the increasing experience of ever new joy we have in meditation, is the Presence of the Divine...
While there was nothing I did not already know in these paragraphs - as in all experiences - there is a right moment to imbibe certain messages perhaps more deeply, and I indeed had an "aha!" moment.
Tolle goes on to say that:
"A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it...
For example, when someone criticizes you, blames you, or calls you names, instead of immediately retaliating or defending yourself - do nothing. Allow the self-image to remain diminished and become alert to what that feels deep inside you. For a few seconds, it may feel uncomfortable...then you may sense an inner spaciousness that feels intensely alive...
When you no longer defend or attempt to strengthen the form of yourself, you step out of identification with form, with mental self image..."
I thought of how we all have these experiences from time to time - of someone mis-interpreting or criticizing us - and why our responses would indeed pull us deeper into drama and identification with form.
Tolle quotes the Tao Te Ching which says that:
"Instead of trying to be a mountain...'be the valley of the universe.'" This should be our response to such situations.
Jesus taught something very similar when he said:
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Ultimately, we are formless consciousness...This, Tolle teaches, is a great lesson:
"A sane, balanced, and fruitful human life is a dance between the two dimensions that make up reality: form and space...
What you see, hear, feel, touch, or think about is only half of reality, so to speak. It is form...
Being is prior to existence. Existence is form, content, 'what happens,' Existence is the foreground of life; Being is the background...
The collective disease of humanity is that people are so engrossed in what happens...they have forgotten the essence, that which is beyond content, beyond form, beyond thought. They are so consumed by time that they have forgotten eternity...
Eternity is the living reality of who you are..."
These words left a powerful imprint on me as I read them before retiring last night. I realized, that most of my life - I have wanted to know as much about loved ones as I possibly could. Similarly, I have also wanted to be known as well. As I reflected on Tolle's writings, I became more deeply aware of the fact - that what I wanted to know about others - or what I wanted others to know about me - was only content - it had nothing to do with the Essence of those loved ones or myself - that is to say - that Essence which is Eternal and Divine...There was something incredibly freeing as I entered into that awareness.
I also thought of Yogananda and so many of his exhortations urging us not to get embroiled in the details and suffering of our lives - for it will all someday pass - and be merely a dream in the face of all Eternity...
So everything comes full circle...And as I sat and did my midnight meditation, I had an experience of these teachings that was deeper and which I can only describe as ineffable.
Eckhart Tolle tells the amazing story of seeing Stephen Hawking while he was a student at Cambridge and not knowing at first who he was. This brilliant theoretical physicist has lived with ALS for a long time. But once, while Tolle held a door open for him, he looked into his eyes and was struck by the clarity of them. Tolle was moved hearing that when asked about his life, Hawkings once responded: "Who could ask for more?"
Unhappiness or negativity - Tolle observes - is a disease on our planet. When we are dependent on what happens as a source for happiness - we are bound to be disappointed - for everything changes constantly. Instead, Tolle recommends:
"Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is deeper than any form and untouched by time.
The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person or event - through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you - ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with you who are."
I then thought of Yogananda, who teaches that the increasing experience of ever new joy we have in meditation, is the Presence of the Divine...
While there was nothing I did not already know in these paragraphs - as in all experiences - there is a right moment to imbibe certain messages perhaps more deeply, and I indeed had an "aha!" moment.
Tolle goes on to say that:
"A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it...
For example, when someone criticizes you, blames you, or calls you names, instead of immediately retaliating or defending yourself - do nothing. Allow the self-image to remain diminished and become alert to what that feels deep inside you. For a few seconds, it may feel uncomfortable...then you may sense an inner spaciousness that feels intensely alive...
When you no longer defend or attempt to strengthen the form of yourself, you step out of identification with form, with mental self image..."
I thought of how we all have these experiences from time to time - of someone mis-interpreting or criticizing us - and why our responses would indeed pull us deeper into drama and identification with form.
Tolle quotes the Tao Te Ching which says that:
"Instead of trying to be a mountain...'be the valley of the universe.'" This should be our response to such situations.
Jesus taught something very similar when he said:
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Ultimately, we are formless consciousness...This, Tolle teaches, is a great lesson:
"A sane, balanced, and fruitful human life is a dance between the two dimensions that make up reality: form and space...
What you see, hear, feel, touch, or think about is only half of reality, so to speak. It is form...
Being is prior to existence. Existence is form, content, 'what happens,' Existence is the foreground of life; Being is the background...
The collective disease of humanity is that people are so engrossed in what happens...they have forgotten the essence, that which is beyond content, beyond form, beyond thought. They are so consumed by time that they have forgotten eternity...
Eternity is the living reality of who you are..."
These words left a powerful imprint on me as I read them before retiring last night. I realized, that most of my life - I have wanted to know as much about loved ones as I possibly could. Similarly, I have also wanted to be known as well. As I reflected on Tolle's writings, I became more deeply aware of the fact - that what I wanted to know about others - or what I wanted others to know about me - was only content - it had nothing to do with the Essence of those loved ones or myself - that is to say - that Essence which is Eternal and Divine...There was something incredibly freeing as I entered into that awareness.
I also thought of Yogananda and so many of his exhortations urging us not to get embroiled in the details and suffering of our lives - for it will all someday pass - and be merely a dream in the face of all Eternity...
So everything comes full circle...And as I sat and did my midnight meditation, I had an experience of these teachings that was deeper and which I can only describe as ineffable.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
i carry your heart
Yesterday, I was reminded of one of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings...
I heard a brief reference to it - as a joke in a movie - and it made me want to look it up again. While it is often trivialized - I find that it is beautiful in its simplicity and I reproduce it here:
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry you heart (i carry it in my heart)
- e.e.cummings
I was fascinated when I did a google search of this poem to see how many people had posted it on their blogs. And I wondered - what would the world be like if we all carried each other in our hearts like we carry those we love and those who have left their indelible imprints on our lives and souls?
It would truly be a new world and new earth and it is the one I believe - we are awakening to...
I heard a brief reference to it - as a joke in a movie - and it made me want to look it up again. While it is often trivialized - I find that it is beautiful in its simplicity and I reproduce it here:
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry you heart (i carry it in my heart)
- e.e.cummings
I was fascinated when I did a google search of this poem to see how many people had posted it on their blogs. And I wondered - what would the world be like if we all carried each other in our hearts like we carry those we love and those who have left their indelible imprints on our lives and souls?
It would truly be a new world and new earth and it is the one I believe - we are awakening to...
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Breath, Silence, and Appreciation
Eckhart Tolle says, that taking one conscious breath is a meditation...
How often do we consciously breathe?
Yesterday, I reviewed some things I wrote and collected three years ago, and I was struck by this quote that I remember using in a class I taught back in the Spring of 2005:
"Just follow the breath.
Learn it.
Taste it.
Feel it.
Surrender to it.
Let the breath be you.
Feel yourself the breath.
Melt.
Fuse.
From the sleeping state
to the waking state.
Let yourself be taken to God."
And some other quotes, also used in classes:
"The distant shores of silence
begin at the door.
You cannot go there like a bird.
You must stop,
look deeper, still deeper,
until nothing deflects the soul
from the deepmost deep."
- John Paul II
"Every time you appreciate something,
every time you praise something,
every time you feel good about something,
you are telling the Universe:
'More of this please!'
A desire to appreciate is a very good first step...
and as you want to feel appreciation,
you attract something to appreciate.
And as you appreciate it,
you attract something else to appreciate,
until in time, you are experiencing
a Rampage of Appreciation!"
- Esther and Jerry Hooks, Ask and it is Given
How often do we consciously breathe?
Yesterday, I reviewed some things I wrote and collected three years ago, and I was struck by this quote that I remember using in a class I taught back in the Spring of 2005:
"Just follow the breath.
Learn it.
Taste it.
Feel it.
Surrender to it.
Let the breath be you.
Feel yourself the breath.
Melt.
Fuse.
From the sleeping state
to the waking state.
Let yourself be taken to God."
And some other quotes, also used in classes:
"The distant shores of silence
begin at the door.
You cannot go there like a bird.
You must stop,
look deeper, still deeper,
until nothing deflects the soul
from the deepmost deep."
- John Paul II
"Every time you appreciate something,
every time you praise something,
every time you feel good about something,
you are telling the Universe:
'More of this please!'
A desire to appreciate is a very good first step...
and as you want to feel appreciation,
you attract something to appreciate.
And as you appreciate it,
you attract something else to appreciate,
until in time, you are experiencing
a Rampage of Appreciation!"
- Esther and Jerry Hooks, Ask and it is Given
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Blessings Abound Everywhere
Blessings abound everywhere...
If we have the eyes to see...And the ears to hear...
This week, between teaching sessions, I have enjoyed walking the labyrinth, seeing friends, strolling by the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, napping, reading a novel, and being touched by a number of programs.
I continue to listen to the web casts on A New Earth and find myself more and more deeply engrossed in them.
Earlier this week I saw Oprah interview Vivian Stringer, the basketball coach who just wrote her memoirs, Standing Tall. She coached many women's teams to victory - but more importantly than that - mentored many young women. Her own life was struck by much personal tragedy - including a disagnosis of breast cancer - which she shared with no one but a stranger so as to not inflict more pain on her children and family, particularly after the loss of her husband.
I was moved by her courage, and strong principles. Many will remember that her team was humiliated by insensitive comments made by Don Imus.
Yesterday, Oprah hosted a show which focused on the dramatic impact A New Earth was having on people all over the world.
Then last night, I watched Diane Sawyer interview Randy Pausch, a professor with terminal pancreatic cancer, who delivered his "Last Lecture" to a group of friends and students, before it exploded onto the internet.
This was one of the most touching interviews and portrayals I have ever seen. I was deeply moved by Randy and his wife Jai - whom I especially found mesmerizing. She accepted the cards they had been dealt and had found peace in her life. This did not imply she was happy with her husband's condition - but she acknowledged that they were no different from other individuals facing tragic conditions who continued to live their lives as fully as possible.
Randy Pausch said that he always believed in people. But through the support of legions of perfect strangers his belief in the goodness of others was even more solid...
There are blessings everywhere - and lessons too - if we are willing to see them. Sometimes they come from the most unexpected places and experiences. I would not have seen this program had not a friend alerted me to it.
When I sat for my midnight meditation - I gave thanks for all I have received in my life - what I have deemed good - and what has been more challenging.
Give yourself a treat: Take time to be inspired by "The Last Lecture."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqdnjgkExY
If we have the eyes to see...And the ears to hear...
This week, between teaching sessions, I have enjoyed walking the labyrinth, seeing friends, strolling by the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, napping, reading a novel, and being touched by a number of programs.
I continue to listen to the web casts on A New Earth and find myself more and more deeply engrossed in them.
Earlier this week I saw Oprah interview Vivian Stringer, the basketball coach who just wrote her memoirs, Standing Tall. She coached many women's teams to victory - but more importantly than that - mentored many young women. Her own life was struck by much personal tragedy - including a disagnosis of breast cancer - which she shared with no one but a stranger so as to not inflict more pain on her children and family, particularly after the loss of her husband.
I was moved by her courage, and strong principles. Many will remember that her team was humiliated by insensitive comments made by Don Imus.
Yesterday, Oprah hosted a show which focused on the dramatic impact A New Earth was having on people all over the world.
Then last night, I watched Diane Sawyer interview Randy Pausch, a professor with terminal pancreatic cancer, who delivered his "Last Lecture" to a group of friends and students, before it exploded onto the internet.
This was one of the most touching interviews and portrayals I have ever seen. I was deeply moved by Randy and his wife Jai - whom I especially found mesmerizing. She accepted the cards they had been dealt and had found peace in her life. This did not imply she was happy with her husband's condition - but she acknowledged that they were no different from other individuals facing tragic conditions who continued to live their lives as fully as possible.
Randy Pausch said that he always believed in people. But through the support of legions of perfect strangers his belief in the goodness of others was even more solid...
There are blessings everywhere - and lessons too - if we are willing to see them. Sometimes they come from the most unexpected places and experiences. I would not have seen this program had not a friend alerted me to it.
When I sat for my midnight meditation - I gave thanks for all I have received in my life - what I have deemed good - and what has been more challenging.
Give yourself a treat: Take time to be inspired by "The Last Lecture."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqdnjgkExY
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Pain-Body
One of the most interesting and thought-provoking discussions to come out of Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, is the acknowledgment that we all have a pain-body.
Tolle explains how the voice inside our heads often takes on a life of its own. Many of us are trapped in our thoughts and we tend to re-hash the things that happened in the past over and over again. Our bodies respond to these thoughts with emotions - and our feelings may often be registered physically before we are even aware of them.
Negative emotions are toxic and they interfere with balance and harmony in our lives.
Tolle points out that the energy field of emotions that are still living inside of us is what constitutes the pain-body, and it is a reflection of our egoic state.
Besides our individual pain-bodies - many of us all participate in collective pain bodies by virtue of our race, gender, ethnicity, and even family. We have an "en-coding" that can be passed on from generation to generation.
I had an interesting discussion with a friend this morning on the pain-body. We both agreed, when we shared certain aspects of our personal stories - that our mostly deeply painful experiences did give us a chance to awaken and grow in areas and ways that were necessary.
The pain-body feeds on drama and negativity - yet it is possible for us to break free from its hold. It begins with the realization that we have a pain-body - and that we all carry hurts and wounds.
After coming to this awareness, we simply need to cultivate a greater sense of Presence, which enables us to dis-identify with the pain-body. In time, and with practice - our very energy fields change.
We need not negate what we feel - but simply recognize it for what it is. It is the acceptance of what is - that opens the door to transformation.
Tolle explains how the voice inside our heads often takes on a life of its own. Many of us are trapped in our thoughts and we tend to re-hash the things that happened in the past over and over again. Our bodies respond to these thoughts with emotions - and our feelings may often be registered physically before we are even aware of them.
Negative emotions are toxic and they interfere with balance and harmony in our lives.
Tolle points out that the energy field of emotions that are still living inside of us is what constitutes the pain-body, and it is a reflection of our egoic state.
Besides our individual pain-bodies - many of us all participate in collective pain bodies by virtue of our race, gender, ethnicity, and even family. We have an "en-coding" that can be passed on from generation to generation.
I had an interesting discussion with a friend this morning on the pain-body. We both agreed, when we shared certain aspects of our personal stories - that our mostly deeply painful experiences did give us a chance to awaken and grow in areas and ways that were necessary.
The pain-body feeds on drama and negativity - yet it is possible for us to break free from its hold. It begins with the realization that we have a pain-body - and that we all carry hurts and wounds.
After coming to this awareness, we simply need to cultivate a greater sense of Presence, which enables us to dis-identify with the pain-body. In time, and with practice - our very energy fields change.
We need not negate what we feel - but simply recognize it for what it is. It is the acceptance of what is - that opens the door to transformation.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Inner Body
Eckhart Tolle, in his book - A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose - speaks of feeling the inner body as a way of connecting to the present moment.
You can experience the inner body simply by focusing on your hand - and feeling the energy there - your hand perhaps tingling with warmth or some other sensation.
Later, you can focus your awareness on other parts of your body where the experience of aliveness might be more subtle. In some meditation traditions, one learns to literally "hear" the blood rushing through the veins, or the cerebral spinal fluid coursing through the spine.
Focusing on the breath however, is a simpler way to bring oneself back to the present moment - it is more accessible and does not require years of practice. This simple technique can quickly bring us into stillness - and automatically connect us to the present moment.
Tolle's discussion on the inner body made me think of the First Universal Principle of Alignment in Anusara Yoga - "Opening to grace" - which implies opening to the Universal - or to something bigger than who we are - and ultimately to the Divine.
Often, teachers will give their students instructions as:
"Inner body bright!" or,
"Side body long!"
The idea is that we connect to the inner body and open - creating space - and a bigger container so that we may receive more deeply and be filled to overflowing.
All of the actions in Anusara Yoga are initiated in the back body, and it was interesting for me to note the connection between what Eckhart Tolle was saying in his book, and a basic principle of alignment in the style of yoga that I teach.
Connecting with the inner body allows us to experience life on a deeper level and allows to come to catch a glimpse of who we really are at our essence - a magnificent reflection of the Divine - whether we are engaging in a meditative or asana practice.
You can experience the inner body simply by focusing on your hand - and feeling the energy there - your hand perhaps tingling with warmth or some other sensation.
Later, you can focus your awareness on other parts of your body where the experience of aliveness might be more subtle. In some meditation traditions, one learns to literally "hear" the blood rushing through the veins, or the cerebral spinal fluid coursing through the spine.
Focusing on the breath however, is a simpler way to bring oneself back to the present moment - it is more accessible and does not require years of practice. This simple technique can quickly bring us into stillness - and automatically connect us to the present moment.
Tolle's discussion on the inner body made me think of the First Universal Principle of Alignment in Anusara Yoga - "Opening to grace" - which implies opening to the Universal - or to something bigger than who we are - and ultimately to the Divine.
Often, teachers will give their students instructions as:
"Inner body bright!" or,
"Side body long!"
The idea is that we connect to the inner body and open - creating space - and a bigger container so that we may receive more deeply and be filled to overflowing.
All of the actions in Anusara Yoga are initiated in the back body, and it was interesting for me to note the connection between what Eckhart Tolle was saying in his book, and a basic principle of alignment in the style of yoga that I teach.
Connecting with the inner body allows us to experience life on a deeper level and allows to come to catch a glimpse of who we really are at our essence - a magnificent reflection of the Divine - whether we are engaging in a meditative or asana practice.
Monday, April 7, 2008
A New Earth
Like millions of others, I have been reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose - and following the weekly 90 minute web cast on the book hosted by Oprah.
This is a book that is meant to transform lives - it enables the reader to live more consciously and fully in the present moment - resulting in a lack of identification with the ego.
Tolle reminds us that life will always give us whatever experiences we need in order for our consciousness to evolve. His book also shows us how to cultivate a deeper awareness in our lives by living more fully in the present moment and ceasing to identity with form. When we move towards formlessness, we move into the realm of Being.
I am amazed by the depth of the questions asked during this web cast - and by the sheer numbers of individuals who are resonating with this book. One person recently described it as a manual for life. Everyone has recognized what an unprecedented event this is - with individuals from every corner of the world using current technology to call in their questions through the internet.
You can download transcripts, and audio and video files of this incredible discussion for free at:
www.oprah.com
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Compassion
For the last several days I have been appropriately reading different selections on the topic of compassion from Paramahansa Yogananda's writings. Here are a few of these selections I have found memorable, useful, and inspirational:
Sage and timeless advice for all of us to take in consideration as our lives and experiences flow from one side of the coin to the other. At times we are merely imbibing and drinking in the implied wisdom of these words - but in other moments - we may be simply embodying compassion for someone else...
There are so many opportunities daily to be compassionate, and to experience compassion - sometimes from the most unexpected sources...
"Compassion towards all beings
is necessary for divine realization,
for God Himself is overflowing
with this quality.
Those with a tender heart
can put themselves
in the place of others,
feel their suffering,
and try to alleviate it."
"O Lord of Compassion,
teach me to shed tears of love
for all beings.
May I behold them as my very own--
different expressions of my Self.
I can easily excuse my own faults;
let me therefore quickly forgive
the failings of others.
Bless me, O Father,
that I not inflict on my companions
unwelcome criticism..."
"Thy divine light is hidden
in even the most vicious...man
waiting to shine forth
under the proper conditions:
the keeping of good company
and ardent desires of self-betterment.
We thank Thee that no sin is unforgivable,
no evil insuperable..."
"I will behold the person
who now considers himself my enemy
to be in truth my divine brother
hiding behind a veil of misunderstanding.
I will tear aside this veil
with a dagger of love so that,
seeing my humble, forgiving understanding,
he will no longer spurn
the offering of my goodwill."
is necessary for divine realization,
for God Himself is overflowing
with this quality.
Those with a tender heart
can put themselves
in the place of others,
feel their suffering,
and try to alleviate it."
"O Lord of Compassion,
teach me to shed tears of love
for all beings.
May I behold them as my very own--
different expressions of my Self.
I can easily excuse my own faults;
let me therefore quickly forgive
the failings of others.
Bless me, O Father,
that I not inflict on my companions
unwelcome criticism..."
"Thy divine light is hidden
in even the most vicious...man
waiting to shine forth
under the proper conditions:
the keeping of good company
and ardent desires of self-betterment.
We thank Thee that no sin is unforgivable,
no evil insuperable..."
"I will behold the person
who now considers himself my enemy
to be in truth my divine brother
hiding behind a veil of misunderstanding.
I will tear aside this veil
with a dagger of love so that,
seeing my humble, forgiving understanding,
he will no longer spurn
the offering of my goodwill."
Sage and timeless advice for all of us to take in consideration as our lives and experiences flow from one side of the coin to the other. At times we are merely imbibing and drinking in the implied wisdom of these words - but in other moments - we may be simply embodying compassion for someone else...
There are so many opportunities daily to be compassionate, and to experience compassion - sometimes from the most unexpected sources...
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