This Love Lasts Forever

Reveries of two powerful experiences chanting and meditating this last week haunt me, as a gentle breeze by the river this morning briefly refreshes...

Thoughts and deeply held impressions of the power of Divine Love drift in and out of my mind as I recall excerpts from a song that has been playing over and over in my heart and soul...

"I feel it now, it's all around me
a silent voice I can't deny...

I close my eyes, it takes me over
a memory deep down in my soul.
And safe from harm
to be beside you.
Our light will shine upon the world.

It will last forever (this love)
It will never fade away (this love)
Never cause me pain (this love)."

So true, for Divine Love is the only constant - throughout decades and across lifetimes...

("This Love", A Hundred Thousand Angels, Bliss, 1999)

Gayatri Mantra

A group of dedicated yoginis convene in a sacred circle to chant the Gayatri Mantra...

It is perhaps the oldest prayer and chant, from the most ancient sacred text - the Rig Veda - and it has been intoned for countless centuries...

I marvel at the convergence of gifted and beautiful women I met at different times, in different circumstances, and in two studios. By Divine grace their lives have intersected. God simply scooped them all up and brought them all together to join in spiritual practice. I am awed beyond words by this.

Healing energy moves gracefully throughout the heart-felt chanting, embracing all of our stories, issues, and needs - and riding on the very breath of God...

om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varemyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yonah prachodayat

It is translated in many different ways:

"May the almighty God
illuminate our intellect
to lead us along the righteous path."

"Oh God! Thou are the Giver of life!
Remover of pain and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness.
Oh! Creator of the Universe,
May we receive the sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction!"

I give intent for healing for others and myself, and I am buoyed by fervent communal prayers wafting up to God like incense. Consciousness is altered, and doorways to the Divine are opened...

Sleep is deep, with a profound sense of something shifting...

Riding the Currents of the Breath

Last night I visited the class of a very gifted teacher on the other side of the river...

It was a 7:30 PM class that was virtually packed and I later found out that some had been attending this class for years...

The class focused on the breath and included instructions on activating the various bandhas or locks as well as a number of pranayama techniques.

This teacher normally teaches an almost identical sequence of poses from week to week but with a different emphasis each time. Students have told me that throughout a session they embody the practice very deeply and that the experience is truly transformational.

We were invited to connect deeply with the breath in very subtle and energetic ways and to explore areas of resistance within our bodies. With every inbreath - particularly in challenging poses, backbends, or balance poses involving longer holds, we received very poetic instructions to expand - receive - and catch the waves - and ride them powerfully as we deepened in the pose.

It always amazes me how many different styles of teaching there are - and how each pose can be explained in so many different ways. As a teacher, I try to attend other classes always with a beginner's mind so that I can experience what it is that those around me might be experiencing.

I found myself thinking again and again of the breath like waves - waiting for the right one to come along on an inhale - then expressing the pose more deeply on the exhale.

There were so many references to the moving currents of prana within our bodies and where it not only meets resistance within us - but where it irrigates and nourishes if we only allow this happen. It was a good reminder of how important it is to pay attention to the breath, and an indication to focus on it more directly in the future.

Seasons Within Seasons

The insight comes - there are seasons within seasons in our lives, and lifetimes within lifetimes as well...

There are constant blessings to be found all around for those with the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Even adversity and challenges contain within the seeds of change and growth. There is always much we have to grateful for...

I thought of this as I meditated alongside a fellow devotee - feeling sweetly nourished in our shared practice yesterday evening. We were embraced by the powerful mantle of our meditation and the support of a sacred lineage of spiritual masters. We delighted in sharing experiences and stories.

This morning I read these words by Sri Yukteswar - Paramahansa Yogananda's own Master:

"Pain and pleasure are transitory;
endure all dualities with calmness,
trying at the same time to remove yourself
beyond their power..."

What wisdom in this phrase:
"Endure all dualities with calmness..."

As we move through the seasons within seasons in our lives, let us remember to turn inward, with our hearts and minds and souls fixed onto God as our beacon - navigating through the rough waters with the internal stillness that comes from our sanctified practice and devotion.

"Your soul is a beacon
of infinite power.
You can expand that power
from within and give light
and health, and understanding
to others."
- Paramahansa Yogananda

Wait and Wonder

I think of the impermanence of things and what comes and goes...

I think of a young, former student of mine - forced to sideline a surgical residency due to cancer...

I think of my cousin's only child - a son - deployed to Afghanistan...

I think of all the things we can't control in life and what is really ultimately important in life - not the pettiness that seems to be...

I think of a message received from a mentor last year:
"Stand tall in the light!"

And these words from two songs by Bliss waft into my heart and soul:

"In every broken dream there is a love
That is strong enough to heal the deepest hurt..."

"Here we go again, asking the same old questions
Facing the same stuff, wondering when its all gonna leave us alone
And here it comes again, denying we ever knew the truth
Well blame is a disease that separates you from love...
Well life is a disease that separates you from god

When you're down and formless as a cloud, drifting out to sea
Stay with the deep, stay with the deep
Stay with the deepest part of you."

I stand by the river bank, in the very early morning, almost slipping on the rocks and cast my pebble into its depths - and commit to release all that does not serve and unhealthy ties that bind...
(Wait and Wonder and The Deep, "Bliss" by Bliss, 2003).

Limitless Beauty Within

Some beautiful quotes coming from several sources for this morning:

"At the heart of personality is the need to feel a sense of being loveable without having to qualify for that acceptance."
- Dr. Paul Tournier

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."
- Buddha

"Limitless like the ocean are your excellent qualities."
- Dalai Lama

"Our inability to see beauty doesn't suggest in the slightest that beauty is not there. Rather, it suggests that we are not looking carefully enough or with broad enough perspective to see the beauty."
- Rabbi Harold Kushner

"The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing."
- John Muir

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."
- Napoleon Hill

Creative Suffering

A dear friend and student sent these quotations from Joyce Rupp after having read the one posted a couple of days ago. They are a rich mine of wisdom insight, and comfort...

"When we learn how to say goodbye,
we truly learn how to say to ourselves and others:
'Go, God be with you.
I entrust you to God.
The God of strength, courage, comfort,
hope, and love, is with you.
The God who promises to wipe away all tears
will hold you close and will fill your emptiness.
Let go and be free to move on.'"

"When our suffering refines us
in such a way that it leads to inner change
and transformation that positively affects our lives
or that of others,
it becomes creative suffering."

Expansion III

The river is a constant. It supports and sustains. It receives all the prayers and meditations of my heart...

I sit in meditation against the lone bench by the river launch and expand my back body and receive its support...

Expansion

the side body
rises--
to meet the kiss
of the inner body
expanding brightly

breath sent
to the back body
opens--
and inflates kidneys,
and for the first time
I understand
what it means
to express the pose
and the practice
from the inside

Weaving of Our Days

On this early Sunday morning, before I leave to teach a workshop in Annapolis on the Bhagavad Gita, I read this quote by Joyce Rupp in an article written by a nun whom I have known for more than half of my life:

"When did you first weave
your way into my life, Beloved?...
I do not know the precise moment.
Perhaps there never was one.
More, it seems to me are
the countless ways you enter,
thread by thread,
the pattern of my days."

In our busyness and commitments and responsibilities, years will spill into years, hardly noticed or marked, unless we consciously sanctify that time. In Sr. Mary Frances' words:

"The weaving of our days continues,
and we pray for the Grace to recognize
the Beloved in each strand."

Child

I awake in the silence of the early morning and offer prayers for a child I love very much.

She is forever in my heart and soul...

Love, and Divine Presence flood my soul and a song reminds me of this beautiful child on such a magnificent morning, without a cloud in the sky - and so full of promise...

Child

Check, whose smile do you wear?
Whose words do you speak and do you walk them well?
Ask your heart, do you know who I am?
Do you hear the child who wants to run with the wind?

Joy, do you know how it tastes?
Do you know how you feel, right here, right now?
Ask your heart, where did I go?
Can you find the child who wants to run with the wind?

Take a glimpse of God along the horizon
Know that somewhere there's a place called home
Hear the message from the corridors of heaven and go Running safely
To the arms of the one you love

Dance, let 'em know who you are
Wear your love on your sleeve and diamonds in your eyes
Tell your heart, I know who I am

You will hear the child who runs with the wind
You will be the child who runs with the wind
You will love the child who runs with the wind

Bliss, 2003.

Expansion II

Life is a series of experiences of contraction and expansion. It is reminiscent of two of the principles of Anusara Yoga - Muscular Energy and Organic Energy. In the first, you hug the muscles to the bones, and draw energy from the periphery to the core - and towards the midline - allowing it to pool into the focal point of the pose. In the latter - you extend out from that focal point organically - yet not letting go of the action and experience of drawing in.

Indeed, all of the Universal Principles of Alignment of Anusara Yoga embody this constant oscillation between expansion and contraction. it is nothing more and nothing less than the dance of our spirits.

When we venture forth - when our spirit soars - we still have to draw into ourselves, tapping into that limitless reservoir that is our Essence. It is here where the Divine resides within us. Jesus did say - "The kingdom of Heaven is within you."

But there is always this dance - between drawing in and expanding. This is evident in all of our experiences and life situations. There are times when we retreat and go more deeply inside - and there are times when we are more out there and engaged in our work and relationships.

I especially thought of how we need to contract - and hug in - and go inside to connect with God as I remembered yesterday's blog and poem.

I recalled the Christian theological concept of kenosis, best exemplified by the experience of Jesus offering his life on the cross - and how it requires an experience of self-emptying, in order for us to be filled more fully.

Today, on the sixth month anniversary of very major shifts in my life - and a period marked by constant dying and rising and a dance of drawing in and extending out - I thought of how a very significant part of me has drawn in to permanently reside there. Like yesterday's poem - it is all about returning home and constantly learning lessons.

And then, I read this beautiful quote from Paramahansa Yogananda:

"I soar in the plane
of consciousness above,
beneath,
on the left,
on the right,
within and without,
everywhere,
to find that in every nook
of my space-home
I have always been
in the sacred presence of my Father."

Truly, an exquisite reminder that every experience of contraction gently invites us to soar and experience expansion.

Returning Home

Every morning I approach the river with a certain expectation. What will it look like today? I have photographed the river in so many different moods and seasons. I crane my neck to see up ahead as I come around the bend - wondering if the waters will reflect the state of my soul...

The translation of an Indian poem wafted through my soul as I connected to my memories of the river later in the day. My quotidian sojourn to the river is like returning home to my soul...

I imagined these words being sung to God...

Returning Home

Sometimes I remember that moment
That moment
When the one entered my life
And made me belong to him

He taught my heart to sing
He taught my mind to fly

When the dark night surrounded me
That is when He called for me
Come child come
Return to your home
Return to your home

I resisted
I turned my face away
And yet He never left me
He called out to me again and again

He never turned His face away
He remained my true support

With His vision He carried me far beyond
He gave me care
He gave me love
And then He showed me how to love
Such was the One who came into my life
Such was the One who came into my life

Boundless Like the Ocean

Yesterday, I began my morning meditation with this beautiful quotation from Paramahansa Yogananda:

"The Ocean of Spirit has become the little bubble of my soul. Whether floating in birth, or disappearing in death, in the ocean of cosmic awareness the bubble of my life cannot die. I am indestructible consciousness, protected in the bosom of Spirit's immortality."

Later in the day I received these quotes from The Inner Journey:

You Are Bigger Than You Think

"He who would be serene and pure, needs but one thing, detachment."
- Meister Eckhart

We are the ocean - vast, deep, powerful and rich. Nourishing and nurturing. Dive down into the dark stillness of being. Sense the rising and falling of surface thoughts and emotions, sometimes gentle, sometimes violent. Always shifting. Always in motion. Draw back and watch the waves of your life at play. Know you are the unfathomable depths - surface agitations can't disturb you. Know that you are bigger than the little things that aggravate you.

"The bird of paradise alights only on the hand that does not grasp."
- John Berry

"It's best not to get too excited or too depressed by the ups and downs of life."
- Dalai Lama

So often these messages and insights come up - again and again in so many different ways! And always at precisely the right time... There are no accidents...

Deep Healing Waters

Last night, late into the night, but before midnight meditation, I re-read portions of the book, Deep Water Passage: A Spiritual Journey at Midlife, by Ann Linnea.

I read this book more than a decade ago I believe, when I was about to turn 40. I realize now, so much was lost on me at that time. There were experiences I had not had yet.

Ann Linnea, the author of the book, decides to kayak around Lake Superior during the summer of '92 after the loss of her best friend, and during a time she was also facing some critical issues in her marriage and life.

I thought of the book this morning down by the river after I finished my customary river prayers and meditations. The recent interest in taking up kayaking by different friends urged me to find this forgotten volume among my stack of treasured books.

During a particularly dangerous phase of paddling on the lake and coming close to losing her life, Linnea calls a friend from a pay phone and shares her experiences, her vulnerability, and her tears, to which her friend Christine, wisely responds:

"You are in some kind of race with time, with unbelievably harsh daily circumstances. You must paddle with the questions that will most help you awaken into the next phase of your life. Your pilgrimage is to find the stamina to endure these questions, in addition to everything else you're enduring...

You have left the shore of what you think you know about yourself, your life, your relationships, your direction, your purpose. You must ask God more deeply than you have ever asked: Who do you say that I am? What do you want me to do?"

These poignant words come in a chapter entitled: "SHE-WHO-FINISHES-GRIEVING." At the end of the chapter Linnea movingly recounts the last time she visits her friend as she lay dying of cancer, and in a coma:

"When I reached Betty, I felt under the covers to find her hand and bend to kiss her cheek. Touch. Yes, touch. She is real. She is the same woman I love...Rested in the security of our togetherness...And then the words came...

Betty, you are the best friend I've ever had. it is you that has made me alive, who has opened my heart and brought me amazing companionship. There are so many good memories between us. We have lived together so passionately....

I am going to try as hard as I can to be worthy of that honor, to love more deeply, to live more deeply. But I am going to miss you very much...

I know how much you like to sing. I wanted to sing you the prayer I always sing to the children:

Mother we thank Thee for the night
and for the blessed morning light,
for health and food and loving care
and all that makes the day so fair.
Help us to do the things we should,
to be to others kind and good.
In all we do in work or play,
to be more loving day by day."

Then Linnea invites her friend to let go, and with one last breath she does, surrounded by family and friends.

Linnea then realizes, that she had felt so alone from that point on, but now, on this journey, as she connected with her friend's spirit, she knew she was still alone, but no longer lonely.

I ended that chapter, meditated, and went to bed last night, realizing, there were new insights in this wonderful book that once again spoke to me at a very different period in my own life. I thought of the book, and so many instances in the pages that I resonated with as I sat by the river this morning in the gentle breeze and the warm sun. And the I remembered a message given by a dear friend on so many instances: We are never alone.

The River in Silent Summer Stillness

It was as quiet and still down by the river as I had seen it in a long time. It felt truly delicious and was exactly what I needed this morning.

The clouds and the trees on the banks of the far side of the river were vividly reflected in the water. The inlets and coves on that side seemed less distant - and yielded richer details. I could see all the way down to the riverbed. Everything was crystal clear - like the goal in meditation. If only my mind and heart were so still. It was silent except for the joyous chirping of birds. I enjoyed this silence and let it envelop me and my thoughts.

Silence is such an important part of the spiritual journey. Interior growth often takes place in the heart of silence. I find myself called to increasingly greater silence in my life.

Here are some quotes on silence:

"Growth takes place in a person by working at a deep inner level in a sustained atmosphere of silence."
- Dr. Ira Progoff

"Only when one is connected to one's own core is one connected to others... And, for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be refound through solitude."
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"In the sweet territory of silence we touch the mystery. It's the place of reflection and contemplation, and it's the place where we can connect with the deep knowing, to the deep wisdom way."
- Angeles Arrien

The Innermost Heart

As I prepare for a workshop on the Bhagavad Gita, I decided to review some new translations and editions of this timeless classic, and have been particularly moved and entranced by Graham M. Schweig's new translation - Bhagavad Gita: Tthe Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song.

His textual illuminations were brief but packed with delicious insights and so many priceless gems. It inspired this poem:

The Innermost Heart

The Supreme Secret
of the Bhagavad Gita
Is God's yearning
for the love of souls

The Yoga of the Gita
Is nothing more
And nothing less--
Than the Yoga of the Heart

The heart is a hermitage,
And within our innermost heart and realm--
Is our most Secret Chamber
And Sanctuary for the Beloved,
Where Divine yearning for our love
Is fully consummated

Herein lies the Supreme Secret
Of the Gita:
We are loved fully,
Deeply,
And unconditionally by God:
No other love satisfies.

When we listen
To the sweetly intoxicating
And Immortal Song
Sung by the Beloved,
We are passionately driven
To commune in the most exquisite
And Sacred Rapture, calling us
Into an irresistible embrace
Transmuting our every act
Into an eternal offering of Love.

Ahhh!

Say Good Morning to God!

I wake at early dawn - my heart full and heavy with thoughts and memories...

I prepare to meet a wonderful student who graciously travels from afar to deepen her practice. We have both grown together - she and I - as a practitioner and a teacher.

My student blossoms
and beautifully opens
in Trikonasana,
strongly rooting
and arching into a backbend--
her fingers shining brightly

She roots
and explodes radiantly
and organically
in exquisite body prayer,
as her voice spontaneously
and blissfully proclaims:
"Say good morning to God!"

There Are No Limits

These wonderful quotes were received today from The Inner Journey and I found them so appropriate. They are wonderful reminders that so much more is possible - if only we dare to seek it and allow it...

"If you're proactive, you don't have to wait for circumstances or other people to create prospective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own."
- Steven Covey

"Nothing is lost upon a man who is bent upon growth; nothing wasted on one who is always preparing for life by keeping eyes, mind and heart open to nature, men, books, experience - and what he gathers serves him at unexpected moments in unforeseen ways."
- Hamilton Wright Mable

"Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts."
- Benjamin Disraeli

Every Minute is Eternity

I spent a very long time down by the river this morning after meditation, pondering things in my tender heart, and revisiting the changes that began about a year ago in my life. I could never have imagined I would be where I am now. I thought of loss experienced at so many levels - but how loss is necessary for growth sometimes.

I looked with longing to the other side of the river wondering what was on that side - almost wishing I had telescoping eyesight. What treasures and secrets might be hidden on that side?

I observed the furtive squirrel that approached me with trepidation, and the bird that eyed me from its precarious perch.

And I also thought of this wonderful quote by Paramahansa Yogananda which brought so much solace and how it contained layers upon layers of insights to unpack:

"Every minute is eternity
because eternity can be experienced in that minute.
Every day and minute and hour is a window
through which you may see eternity.
Life is brief, yet it is unending.
The soul is everlasting,
but out of the short season of this life
you should reap the most you can of immortality."

And in the light of that, everything else seemed so minor.

Peace All Around III

The readings on peace in the Spiritual Diary of Paramahansa Yogananda have drawn to a close. And yet the theme continually crops up for me - even though peace has been a bit more elusive of late.

I managed to find a bit of it down by the river early this morning - despite the many motor boats I now realized I would have to learn to co-exist with during the lazy and hazy summer months.

Here are some of Yognanda's wise insights on the state of peace:

"Live each present moment completely and the future will take care of itself. Fully enjoy the wonder and beauty of each instant. Practice the presence of peace. The more you do that, the more you will feel the presence of that power in your life."

"The peaceful individual remains calm until he wants to work...You must always be calm, like the pendulum that is still, but ready to swing into action..."

"Affirm divine calmness and peace, and send out only thoughts of love and goodwill if you want to live in peace and harmony. Live a godly life yourself and everyone who crosses your path will be helped just by being with you."

"To be controlled by moods is to be a part of matter. If you keep your mind on the resolve never to lose your peace, then you can attain godliness. Keep a secret chamber of silence within yourself, where you will not let moods, trials, battles, or inharmony enter. Keep out all hatred, revengefulness, and desires. In this chamber of peace God will visit you."

"When you have peace in every movement of your body, and peace in your thinking, and in your will power, and peace in your love, and peace and God in your ambitions, remember - you have connected God with your life."

"Be honest with yourself. The world is not honest with you...When you are honest with yourself you find the road to inner peace."

"Each time a swarm of worries invades your mind, refuse to be affected; wait calmly, while seeking the remedy. Spray the worries with the powerful chemical of your peace."

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Yesterday I encouraged my students to bloom where they are planted. This theme followed the previous week's theme of planting seeds.

We may not always choose the set of circumstances we are in. But we can always choose to bloom where we are planted.

When we have tilled the fertile soil of our hearts and planted seeds which then germinate under proper care, blooms will emerge at the most opportune time.

We cannot always choose what our life will look like - or control what happens - but we can always choose how we react to things. We can accept what is - and recognize the wisdom of Divine intervention and forces unseen, constantly at work in our lives.

True happiness and peace arises when we accept things as they are as the great "Serenity Prayer" by the theologian Reinhold Neibuhr so wisely states:

"God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change;
courage to change
the things I can,
and the wisdom
to know the difference."

This is the part of the prayer we all know. But this is the part seldom recited:

"Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one day at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that he will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him,
Forever in the next.
Amen."

What a beautiful invitation to bloom where we are planted!

The River in Summer Heat

It was very hot when I went down to the river this morning. I couldn't help but think of the times last fall and winter when it was so windy and cold that it cut through me like a knife.

I watched a lonely kayaker launch herself into the water and quickly disappear. I wondered what it would be like to be somewhere in the middle of the river or a more isolated place along its banks and just simply meditate - surrounded by nothing more than the water, the sky, and the birds. I imagine it would be simply delicious.

Recently, I had a young and beautiful yogini friend who regularly leads yoga and kayaking retreats in Mexico tell me she would teach me this sport. She said - if I was going to learn how to do it - I might as well learn the right way. I wonder if I am showing my ignorance by asking - how difficult can it be to learn how to do this?

Yesterday we went to pick up some furniture at an outdoors supply store for our deck - and I was fascinated by the diversity of kayaks displayed on a wall. I was drawn to one equipped for two paddlers, but I don't think I convinced my husband that it would be a fun thing to do. Besides, I think I would rather enjoy this experience alone. It seems like it would be perfect for an introvert.

Years ago I read the book - Deep Water Passage: A Spiritual Journey at Midlife, by Ann Linnea. The book was a journal of her experience of paddling all around Lake Superior while she was in her forties, under the most grueling of circumstances. It is was a journey of self discovery undertaken after a significant loss culminating in tremendous insights, growth, and transformation in the midst of difficult challenges confronted and deeply held wounds and heart aches. I thought the book was moving then, but I know now that I did not fully understand it at the time. I had not had some of those experiences yet - and I couldn't understand why Linnea chose to do what she did to confront her demons, but I think I have a better insight now.

I think it is time to revisit this book with new eyes and discern its message for a different period in my life.

Change and Standing Still

This morning, as I read the paper, I was struck by these two paragraphs in Hillary Clinton's historic concession speech after her quest for the Presidency of the United States came to an end:

"When you hear people saying, or think to yourself, 'if only' or 'what if,' I say - please don't go there. Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward...

Life is too short, time too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be."

While she was speaking of her own experience of losing the nomination, it was evident that there were incredible lessons in there for all of us.

How many times do we ask ourselves - "what if?"

How often do we spend our time looking back - not only dwelling on the past - but consumed by it? Life is truly too short to limit ourselves and the endless possibilities that exist for us by looking back and over-analyzing events - something I have always excelled at.

Just a few days ago, these related quotes came to me:

"When coasting in our comfort zones, we don't grow. We continue to do more of the same...

Maintaining a comfort zone can, paradoxically, lead to discomfort in the long run.

If by being comfortable we avoid important life issues, internal tension accumulates...

Eventually, as both internal and external pressures for change persist, the 'comfort zone' ceases to serve us."
- Eric Allenbaugh

"Be not afraid of changing slowly; be afraid only of standing still."
- Chinese Proverb

One of my favorites quotes by Emily Dickinson is framed at eye-level over my desk. It was a gift from a dear friend:

"Dwell in possibility..."

At the time that I received it, I could not have envisioned all the changes that have occurred in my life in the last three years. Some of these are beyond my wildest imaginings and are incredible blessings that could not have happened without the embrace of radical change.

We should always be willing to explore the seeds of possibility that constantly seek birthing through our choices and decisions. But let us not forget that in order to nurture these seeds, we must first be willing to let go of the past and its unforgiving grip.

The Four Agreements

A wonderful student and friend reminded me after my posting on Gandhi's 10 Fundamentals to Change the World, that these principles bore a lot of similarity to the basic tenets of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - a book that was very popular a few years back. So I will summarize the points here:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under all circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Thanks Donna for this timely reminder!

A Journey of the Heart

Yesterday, on a warm day, as I drove around between acupuncture and rolfing appointments with my windows open, while sipping on the free smoothie I had just earned - I thought to myself: "It doesn't get any better than this!"

There was no other moment than this one, as I listened to selections from the soundtrack of Sex in the City: The Movie. One beautiful song filled and overwhelmed my soul and my senses as I zeroed in on the lyrics. This delicious song, exploded with beauty and sensuality and conveyed the essence of the group's name: Bliss! I couldn't get enough of it as I played it over and over again...

Kissing

"The red light of the sun
slowly descending,
The sky is all I see,
it is never ending.

We could fly,
You and I.
On a cloud,
kissing, kissing

The wind plays with the leaves,
The weather turns colder,
But as long as we believe,
Love doesn't get older.

We could fly,
You and I.
On a cloud,
kissing, kissing.

On a journey of the heart,
there's so much to see.
And when the sky is dark,
you'll be right here,
right here with me.

Right here with me.
Kissing."

I thought of how life is that - every present moment spilling into the next - good ones and challenging ones - all merging into a journey of the heart. It is a journey that can takes us to unexpected places. And sometimes when things are darkest they give way to periods of such magnificence and light we could not have possibly foreseen.

I drove over to Maryland and the studio where I study to observe a very gifted teacher, with the sun beating down, and embraced by the never ending sky.

Life is truly a journey of the heart and an incredible gift. And we are never really alone, for we are supported by those who have come before us - and those who have passed on - those in our lives presently - and those sent by God at precisely the right junctures of our lives. We are always sustained by an incredible web of support that is seen - but mostly unseen...

May your day be a journey of the heart. May you derive pleasure and satisfaction from the simplest things, knowing that everything is always unfolding as it should, and that you are never alone.

**Here is a link to hear this luscious song!
http://www.last.fm/music/Bliss/_/Kissing

Gandhi's 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

I found this gem buried in a newsletter I received from the Institute for Noetic Sciences. It comes from a blog that elaborated on these 10 fundamental principles that Gandhi extolled for changing the world. Here is summary of those principles with accompanying quotes from Gandhi's writings...

1. Change yourself.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves."

2. You are in control.

"Nobody can hurt me without my permission."

3. Forgive and let it go.

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

4. Without action you aren't going anywhere.

"An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching."

5. Take care of this moment.

"I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following."

6. Everyone is human.

"I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps."

" It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. it is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err."

7. Persist.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

8. See the good in people and help them.

"I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't resume to probe into the faults of others."

9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."

10. Continue to grow and evolve.

"Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position."

Principles as timely today as they were a couple of generations ago...

Being Peace

I continue to read Yogananda quotes on peace - and it seems this theme, virtue, or quality keeps coming up for me, everywhere I go, and in everything I read.

Last night I received the latest newsletter from the Chopra Center, and it too - focused on peace. In fact, the suggestion was made that if everyone forwarded the newsletter to at least five people, in literally no time at all, millions will have been touched by a piece of peace. I will include the link to the newsletter so that you may read it in its entirely and pass it on.

The newsletter contained this quote from Lao Tzu:

"If there is to be Peace in the world,
There must be Peace in the nations.

If there is to be Peace in the nations,
There must be Peace in the cities.

If there is is to be Peace in the cities,
There must be Peace between neighbors.

If there is to be Peace between neighbors,
There must be Peace in the home.

If there is to be Peace in the home,
There must be Peace in the Heart."

And as the newsletter notes:

"If there is to be peace in your home, there must be peace in your heart. We transform the world most effectively by transforming ourselves...It is not a difficult task - simply one that requires willingness, awareness, and surrender to an ideal that is easily attainable, one heart a time."

For a link to the full newsletter:
http://chopra.com/namaste/jun08

Planting Seeds

This morning, as I shared coffee with a friend on her wonderful porch and related to her the many blessings I had experienced in the last few months, I was reminded of the theme I had chosen this week for my yoga classes - "Planting Seeds..."

A seed represents pure potentiality. Eventually a seed becomes a tree which in turn blossoms. There are times in our lives which are appropriate for the planting of seeds - which are representative of pure potentiality. The yogic sages teach that we have within us everything that we need at any given given moment to know what we need to know and do what we need to do...

Seeds can blossom through a dedicated practice - giving life and self-expression to the pure potentiality that is contained within. As I watched my students practice, this was so evident to me. I invited them to till the soil in the back doors of their hearts and to prepare the beds for these seeds to explode in the self-expression of the pure potentiality within their lives and practice as they moved through increasingly more challenging back bends. Everyone went deeper - experiencing and enjoying the richness of their practice. It was a beauty to behold.

In my comments, I shared my own experience of planting seeds and seeing its manifestation exactly as I had envisioned - and how a gifted intuitive friend had foreseen the delicate blooming in the garden of my life.

What is the seed you would like to see blossoming in your life? Be willing to prepare and till the soil of your heart so that those seeds of pure potentiality may germinate. Be willing to unveil the magnificence of your heart. Be willing to let those seeds blossom and manifest into insights and dreams. Harness the power of your practice by coming into deeper and greater alignment to support that growth and manifestation that you are capable of knowing and experiencing.

Everything you need is inside of you. Now. And always!

Peace All Around II

There is no greater gift I believe - than the gift of peace....If you have peace - you have everything, for it truly colors everything.

On this beautiful and magnificent morning I stole a few moments before my morning classes and went down to the river anticipating a delicious time meditating. But it was not quite to be. It seemed every rescue truck in the area had gathered for the practice of some maneuvers or something. I walked around for a few moments, but it was not the quiet place I had imagined...Still, there was some semblance of peace there, and the beauty and radiance of the morning was simply beyond words.

I began my morning meditation by reading these inspired words by Paramahansa Yogananda:

"Peace is found in surrender to good through devotion.
People who are loving, who practice stillness,
who delight in meditation and good actions,
are really peaceful.
Peace is the altar of God,
the condition in which happiness exists."

May you find, experience, taste - and give and extend peace on this day!

Peace All Around

What a wonderful way to start a new month - with feelings of deep, abiding peace all around!

The morning is quiet and pleasant - and more blooms are emerging in my garden...

Soon, we will take my son out for brunch on this, his 23rd birthday!

I begin the morning with these wise and beautiful words from Paramahansa Yogananda on the fruits of a dedicated meditation practice:

"Fix your mind inwardly between the eyebrows [as in meditation] on the shoreless lake of peace. Watch the eternal circle of rippling peace around you. The more you watch intently, the more you will feel the wavelets of peace spreading from the eyebrows to the forehead, from the forehead to the heart, and on to every cell in your body.

Now the waters of peace are overflowing the banks of your body and inundating the vast territory of your mind. The flood of peace flows over the boundaries of your mind and moves in infinite directions."
- From Metaphysical Meditations