Ending and Beginning with Gratitude

I wake up to a blanket of virgin snow wrapping up in its embrace, everything that is in sight. It is beautiful beyond words - clean and pure - untouched and new, like the year that is about to arrive...

I sit down to meditate and I light large votive candles, deeply moved by the energies of this day - a New Year's Eve, that is also a Blue Moon, and the day of an eclipse. It also signifies the end of a decade, and heralds the entrance of a new one...

I begin this day, the same way I hope to end it, with thoughts of Gratitude...

During the course of my meditation, I set my intentions to chart the course for the New Year. But I also reflect on the many things that I am grateful for. They come flooding into my soul and they are felt in the deepest recesses of my heart...

I am grateful for my community of treasured friends, for the opportunities I have been given, for the gift of practice, for the daily signs that I am given, for those who unknowingly touch and inspire my life, for the gift of words, and that of faith, that remains ever constant...

I could go on and on...

I think of an article I read in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, about a businessman who witnessed tremendous changes in his life by starting a gratitude journal. Every day, he begins by writing down three things he is grateful for. He also enlists the support of a small community of friends to check in and make sure he stays on track.

It reminded me of how this practice was popularized in the mid nineties - when Oprah took it up after reading Sarah Ban Breathnach's book, Simple Abundance. I tried to write down three things every day back then, but found it difficult and abandoned the practice. But then, I resumed it spontaneously, in my 50th year. Now, every time I sit in meditation, there is so much to be grateful for, I can only focus on a few!

The practice of Gratitude can be become a habit that can dramatically change our perspective and indeed, the course of our lives. In this season when many of us set impossible goals that we are bound to not keep, I propose setting just one - that of experiencing and expressing Gratitude on a daily basis. Begin by being grateful for just one thing - every day - and then notice how it will miraculously and exponentially multiply until you have to be selective of what you will acknowledge being grateful for!

I share with you these words from the "Go Gratitude" crew - that has sought to spread this practice of being grateful all throughout the world, with much success:

"May this New Year be one of Joy, abundance, good-will, peaceful awakenings and graceful journeys. May we have the courage to look for the blessing in every moment, and the audacity to celebrate it!

May compassion reign in our hearts and kindness ring through every word. May our waking dreams be filled with joy, creativity and passionate pursuits. May our hearts and minds be joined as One; unified within, so without.

May we remember we are all Children of the Earth: kindred spirits, brothers and sisters, members of the Great family of Love...

As we prepare to complete this wave, and this year, we invite you to join us, wherever you may be, at 11:11 AM or PM on December 31st for a silent world-wide Gratitude meditation.

Simply breathe into the heart, allowing Gratitude and appreciation to flow through you..."

I will end here with these two quotes, the first from Paramahansa Yogananda, and the second, a familiar one from Meister Eckhart that I have used over, and over again:

"Let us forget the sorrow of the past and make up with our minds not to dwell on them in the New Year. With determination and unflinching will, let us renew our lives, our good habits, and our successes. If the last year has been hopelessly bad, the new Year must be hopelessly good."

"If the only prayer you say is thank you,
it will be enough."

For more information on Go Gratitude, visit:
www.gogratitude.org

A Time to Let Go and To Transform

I have been very quiet these last few days after Christmas, fully enjoying the stillness of the season, sleeping in, reading, nesting, guarding my time, meditating, and journeying inward...

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve - it is the end of one year - and the beginning of another...

Tomorrow is also a Blue Moon - the second Full Moon in a month, and there will also be partial eclipse, visible in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Eclipses are metaphysically about change and letting go, and inviting into your life what you really want to be and to reflect in deeds and words. This interesting moment, created by the confluence of a Full Moon, eclipse, and a year's end, also invites us to more deeply examine our lives, and set intentions for what we would like to manifest in the coming year.

Everything I have been reading of late, or hearing from intuitives is pointing the way towards a year exhorting greater transformation of hearts, and souls, and minds...

I wrote to a dear friend about a week ago, that I was reflecting on the Greek word "metanoia," which for the early Christians implied a change of heart, and conversion of lifestyle. I have been ardently praying for this in the last week.

As we end one year, and dance our way into another, may we let go of whatever does not serve, and all the self-limiting talk and beliefs that hold us back. Let us give intent to become most fully whom we are meant to be. Let the love in our hearts blossom and be shared with all the awaiting hearts around us. Let us be all that we can be, and make this coming year and world a better one!

"Love generously,
praise loudly,
live fully."
~ Elsa Porter

"The future belongs to those
who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is not because things are difficult
that we do not dare;
it is because we do not dare
that they are difficult."
~ Seneca

"Go deep,
confront your resistance,
investigate your shadows,
and open your heart."
~ @GenaLivings

Christmas Day

The day begins slowly, quietly, with meditation, while the rest of my household is asleep. I send blessings, healing energy, and love to several persons, some in need, and others that I am simply grateful for...

I delight in the thoughts of a wonderful Christmas Eve, spent with family, full of laughter and good cheer, and the beauty of Midnight Mass, hymns sung heartily by a full choir and packed congregation, accompanied by an organ, and full brass ensemble.

I revel in this sacred time, inviting the best in all of us. I am touched by the words of a dear soul friend who has stepped into her sacred mission, clothed in her own power, and who shared this message this morning:

"Open to all the Love and all the Joy.
It's all for the asking."

Such breathtaking beauty in such simplicity of words...

I reflect on this Christmas message from Yogananda:

"May the Christmas spirit you feel not end with today;
rather may it be with you every night as you meditate.
Then in the silence of your own mind,
as you drive away all restless thoughts,
Christ Consciousness will come.
If we all follow the spirit of Jesus
we shall surely experience every day
His presence within us."

May this be for all of you today, and always. May you carry the Spirit of Christmas into every moment of every hour, and thus make this world a better place, by shining God's Light, His gift to us, into every darkened corner!

Christmas Eve Blessings

The day is busier than I had anticipated. I had hoped for a more extended meditation period this morning, but I will carve some space out this afternoon...

Despite it all - Christmas Eve blessings come to me in so many ways. In the gift of a book written by a wonderful soul I met on Twitter, that arrives today with a touching inscription...

Christmas Eve blessings also arrives in the wise words of a dear soul companion who gives me this message full of challenges, yet I know that it is really offered as a sacred task:

"Today, keep your thoughts on forgiveness and love.
Relentless love. Love the unloveable.
That's what Christ did."

I think of the Christmas Blessing I posted yesterday, and how it is an invitation to be lived every day, not just at this time of the year.

I leave you with this poem, written by Kathleen Hanagan, a gifted soul and therapist, which she sent in her Christmas letter this year...

One Heart

One heart
A single bird
Sits on a branch
And sings
So devoutly
That a chorus erupts
And all of creation
Wakes up.

Let your love spark
A revolution of hearts
And give it
All you have
Until you are empty.

Then you will know
One heart
That beats
The sound
Of love
In millions
Of ways.

Christmas Eve Blessings to all!

A Sacred Message Received Before Christmas Eve

On this day - or eve - before Christmas Eve, I take a moment to go down to the river. I longed to visit it while it was snowing, but I knew that it would be impossible, for the park would be closed...

I walk down to the boat launch where snow had been shoveled along the water's edge. It is a bit windy and as bitterly cold as it gets in this area. I breathe in the crispness of the air, and something deep within me stirs, almost gasping for life.

I reflect on sacred messages received from a dear soul, and ponder how we are given what we need, in every moment. On the day of the Solstice she shared with me, "Christ's love is so present, in my heart and and soul." She spoke of spending more time in meditation and prayer.

The sun is going down now, and I will go out and take a long walk in the snow at Twilight. I did so yesterday, listening to sacred choral music, and felt myself held in the palm of God's Hand.

I leave you with another beautiful message received, almost unexpectedly, but one which touched my heart deeply this afternoon. It is not only a message for the Sacred Christmas Season, but one for all times and all seasons - and indeed, for every moment of every day...

"This Christmas
mend a quarrel.
Seek out a forgotten friend.
Write a love letter.
Share some treasure. Give a
soft answer. Encourage youth.
Keep a promise.
Find the time.
Forgive an enemy. Listen.
Apologize if you were wrong.
Think first of someone else.
Be kind and gentle.
Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
Express your gratitude. Gladden
the heart of a child. Take pleasure
in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love. Speak it again.
Speak it still once again."
~ Anonymous

Blessings of love, sent to all of you, in a shower of grace!

Solstice Prayer

Yesterday, I went to my friend Bob O'Mara's blog, and he had this beautiful prayer he offered for the Solstice which I want to share here. This is truly a wonderful prayer, for every season:

A Midwinter Prayer

"From the rising of the midwinter sun
to its setting,
Scatter the darkness
with the light of your love,
O Shining One.

Make me short on mean thoughts,
long on offers of words of comfort.
Make me short on being driven,
long on paying attention.

Make me short on focusing only on my own,
long on looking beyond.
Make me short on obsessive thoughts,
long on spontaneous acts of kindness.

Make me short on mindless activity,
long on time to reflect.
Make me short on tradition as a habit,
long on rediscovery and re-owning.

Make me short on rushing or tiring,
long on walking and wondering.
Make me short on false, festive jollity,
long on stilling and rooted joy.

Make me short on guilt,
long on being merciful to myself.
Make me short on being overwhelmed,
long on peaceableness as I set forth this day."

~ From The Celtic Wheel of the Year
by Tess Ward

For Bob's blog, visit:
A Time to RE-FIND self
http://atimetore-findself.blogspot.com/

Winter Solstice

On this day of the Winter Solstice, I cannot help but think of where I was two years ago and how far I've come...

On this day of the Winter Solstice, I cannot help but revel in the many blessings received, so much sweeter because of all that was endured to give birth to them...

On that day of the Winter Solstice two years ago, I went down to the river for the first time with a life that was as open ended as I could have ever imagined it would be. It begged to be re-made, and at 52, I did not think I would be starting over in more ways than one...

And on that day of the Winter Solstice, I took off my watch. I no longer had appointments or a schedule to keep. I did not put it on again until this year's Summer Solstice, when I found myself increasingly busy once again, and needing to get to various places on time. I was told by so many dear intuitive friends, that the landscape of my life, while irrevocably altered, still had more shifting and changing, and emerging to do...

Today, on this Winter Solstice, I go to my acupuncturist, who has accompanied me on the healing journey I undertook two years ago. She tells me that this day is full of "yin" energy, and that it is a day marked by receptivity. She tells me that my liver is doing beautifully, and that a challenging task that I must undertake, can be done from the vantage point of love...

I run out to get some Christmas presents for my son, and the woman at the cashier in front of me has purchased expensive items that yield her cash coupons worth $30. She turns to me and tells me that she is traveling and will not be able to use them, so she gives them to me saying, "Merry Christmas!" I am touched by this gift from a perfect stranger! There is such goodness in the world and its people! It is this kind of generosity that this season is all about.

I wish to share with you, these beautiful insights on the Winter Solstice that come from a recent newsletter from Jamie Allison, a certified Anusara Yoga teacher. I have shared parts of her writings here before...

"As the wheel of the year turns towards the shortest day and longest night of the year, we are offered the opportunity to pause, to stand still for even just a moment and take stock of the preceding year. I believe that many of us have had many opportunities to take stock this year - to truly assess what enriches our lives and fosters a sense of well-being and what can be discarded.

Perhaps, too often this year, we have been forced to let go of things, only to discover that what we were clinging to was holding us back. Perhaps in the letting go, forced or otherwise, we found new reserves, resources and creativity we would not have been aware of in less demanding times.

As this year of upheaval and change is about to depart do we look ahead with hope or with despair? How shall we embrace the unknown, especially in these times of great uncertainty? In times when what we took for granted and held as given no longer exists?

As the wheel of the year turns toward long shadows and diminishing light, it pauses just long enough to invite us to reflect on the darkness and what can be revealed. Then, just as we feel enveloped by the dark, the wheel of the year begins to turn toward the light once again.

This light is always there. A lesson to hold onto, a lesson that reminds us that no matter how dark things seem to be if we have hope, if what we place in our hearts has value, then we can welcome uncertainty. We may find the resources and the creativity to bring forth a plan, a life, a fresh start far better than we could have imagined had we not been pushed out of our comfort zone.

Despair can isolate us, hope can unite us in a common vision. To commit to a vision of service and community is one way to move beyond the uncertainty. Another is remembering to offer gratitude for the blessings and wonder of this life, this day, this moment, this breath.

May there always be a light in the window to guide you home, the warmth of a fire to keep the chill at bay, and the company of good friends and family to hold your heart and reflect the wonder of you, back to you..."

May the longest night of the year uncover the seed of the new light emerging in the coming year. May this light always shine brightly, in your hearts, and mingle with other hearts, joining in a radiance that eludes the beauty of the finest poet's words!

For more on Jamie Allison, her workshops, trainings, and retreats, visit:
www.jamieallisonyoga.com

The Star that Leads to the Christ Child

On this Eve of the Winter Solstice, I reflect on many things. Two years ago, my life changed in ways I could never have imagined or planned. As I process the many blessings that have come my way, especially in the last couple of weeks, I am amazed at how good God is, and how many are his gifts.

The blanketing of snow we received was a beautiful gift, and an invitation to be still, and silent, and to enter more deeply into the present moment.

Someone posted this on Twitter this morning, and I found it so appropriate:

“Kindness is like snow -
it beautifies everything it covers.”
~ Unknown

I leave you with this beautiful poem by Paramahansa Yogananda that I came across this afternoon:

The Star That Leads to the Christ Child

O Lord, I have long been engrossed in material things.
Enthralled by their outward forms,
I failed to perceive within them Thy creative Spirit.
The starry single eye of my soul insight
is now being opened.
Through it may I behold creation
ashine with Thy glory.

Bless me, that I ever see
the Eastern star of wisdom.
May it gleam before my human eyes,
alike in daylight and in gloom.

Let my wise thoughts follow
the wondrous star that leads
to the Christ Chld of Infinity.

~ From: Whispers From Eternity

Winter Wonderland

For the first time in years, we receive significant snowfall - nearly two feet - or perhaps more - and the sight is beautiful indeed!

For the first time in years, we will have a white Christmas!

For the first time in years, I am snowbound - all the classes I was teach are canceled - so I have no where to go - and no where to be...

I sit in meditation peacefully, with snow falling all around...

I read these words by Paramahansa Yogananda about Christ and this Blessed Season...

"Christ is born in the cradle of tenderness. Love is a greater power than hate. Whatever you say, say it with love. Harm no one. Judge not others. Hate none, love all; behold Christ in all. Think of everything in terms of universality...

Will Christ come again? Metaphysically, he is already omnipresent. He smiles at you through every flower. He feels his cosmic body in every speck of space. Every movement of the wind breathes the breath of Jesus. Through his oneness with the divine Christ Consciousness he is incarnate in all that lives. If you have eyes to behold, you can see him enthroned throughout creation."

To all that are snowbound - may you realize the inherent beauty in the seasonal landscape - and the gift that it brings as it invites us to slow down, dwell in silence and stillness, and live more fully in the present moment.

Blessings of love to you all!

Filled to the Brim

I arrived last night from The Woodlands, Texas, and meeting with the Anusara Yoga Curriculum Committee, over the period of several days. Today, I take it easy by slowing down and tackling domestic chores.

I sleep in a little, not as much as I had hoped, and then I head out to McDonald's for coffee and a brief chat with the wonderfully radiant soul who takes my order. Then I make my way down to the river...

Snow is in the air - anywhere from a foot - to a foot and half of precipitation is predicted. I cannot remember the last time I was down at this river and I wonder what it would like in heavy snow. I walk down to the boat launch area, and find the edges frozen, and the water very still and gray. Nearby, some ducks are making quite a racket...

I am filled to the brim from my three days of meeting. I have come home with a sense of the sacredness of the tasks that we have been entrusted with - as we chart the future and the direction of Anusara Yoga - not only in terms of its curriculum and teachings - but in its very essence and soul as well. I am in awe - and speechless - I cannot share all I would like because it is hard to articulate - so much will unfold in the days, and months to come...All I can say is - it is an honor to be part of this process, and I come away from it all with the greatest sense of respect and appreciation for all those who came together for this meeting...

Late last night, as I wrote to one beautiful soul who attended this gathering - someone I did not really know before - I noted that it was no accident we came together to do this work - for it is a sacred mission indeed...

The meetings were intensely passionate - so many speaking and sharing eloquently from the depths of their hearts - each and every one committed to the vision of Anusara Yoga.

There was an opportunity to practice with John Friend - the founder of Anusara - even though it was a brief experience. There was also an opportunity to visit the offices of Anusara, and even John's beautiful home as well - where he hosted us for dessert after dinner the first night. But perhaps the greatest highlight was being able to meditate in his sacred space individually - and as a group - and to see and experience first hand - so many cherished objects I had head about for so many years. The power of meditation and the murtis - the sacred statues in this room was palpable.

I shared a little of this earlier today, with a friend I had not seen in a year. I last saw her when we went for a walk at Riverbend - a park further down along the Potomac River from where I live. We shared all the amazing and wonderful things that have happened in our lives in the last year. And then she asked me to consider working with some of the Hispanic women she works with who are living with cancer, offering them some yoga, meditation, and Reiki. As a former yoga student of mine, she shared that I had impacted her life in a very positive and influential way, and she wanted to see me share what I had to offer to another segment of the population with very real needs. It sounds like a wonderful idea to me...

I am filled to the brim - and I have a sense that so much more will unfold in the time to come!

Be Still and Know...

I will be off to the airport in a few hours to head out for the Woodlands, Texas, to meet with John Friend and members of the Anusara Yoga Curriculum Committee as we seek to standardize our educational materials at a time when Anusara Yoga is experiencing explosive growth all over the world.

I am not a great traveler, and get really nervous about flying and all its unexpected permutations...

Last night, I went to the site, "Following the Star," which I religiously visited during Advent last year. But here I am, a year later, finding myself very busy and frazzled as I consider all the activities on my dance card, and the entry I read is very appropriately titled, "Be Still and Know..."

This is one of my most favorite scripture verses - from Psalm 46:10 to be more precise - "Be still and know that I am God." I have written about this verse before in many ways. And now it comes to me, as a gentle reminder of the season, calling me to stillness, to silence, and to being more centered amidst so many activities that are pulling me in so many directions.

Here is an excerpt from the passage that I read last night, authored by Tracy Hartman, a theologian and professor of homiletics:

"Be still and know...

How do we know God, and what can we know about God...?

Coming to know God is a process...it takes time for us...

Knowing God means realizing that the power of God affects both our present reality, as we live as God's children each day, and our future, as we place our hope in a new reality with God yet to be revealed...

Where are you in the process of getting to know God? Advent provides us with a great opportunity to be still, to acknowledge God's power, and to invite God to transform both our present and our future."

In the midst of so much - the messages arrives - delicately laid down in the cave of my heart - to be still and know God - for in doing so - I come to know myself more deeply. It is also a reminder that all these activities and even this very life will someday pass - but the only thing I will carry with me and take with me into the next life and/or Eternity - will be how much I have come to know, experience, and reflect God's Presence in my life. It is against this yardstick that the progress of my soul will be measured...

Reading this passage is also a gentle reminder, that it is precisely in these times of much busyness that we must simply slow down. I remember a homilist once saying, that if we think we are too busy, then we are simply too busy!

Be still and know -
the heart, the mind, the soul of God.
Be still and know your own...
Be still and hear the heartbeat of God
beating in the cave of your heart
as your own...
Be still and know silence.
Be still and become
that oasis of silence for others.

Visit the Advent devotional site, Following the Star:
www.followingthestar.org

A Blessing

I received this today from one of my Twitter friends, and thought it so beautiful I will share it here with all of you:

Biblebell's Aloha

May the sun bring you new energy by day.
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your sorrows.
May the breeze blow new strength
Into your being.
May you walk gently through the world
And know its beauty all the days of your life.

As you celebrate this season sacred to so many, may this blessing fill your soul and touch your heart!

A Guru Thread Dissolves on 12-12

For metaphysical numerologists, 12-12 bears a lot of significance. It is understood to imply a level of completion - a graduation of sorts - and also denotes the experience of a Cosmic Connection. The number 12-12 also signifies a bridge to the future...

On this day of 12-12, I spent the morning subbing a friend's yoga classes at the studio that is my spiritual home and community. Willow Street Yoga Center in Maryland, is currently the largest Anusara Yoga studio in the country. It counts among its gifted teachers, the largest contingent of teachers in both the certified and Inspired categories - making it a virtual "mecca" for serious students of Anusara Yoga.

I came to study here almost 4 years ago, at the inspired suggestion of a very dear soul companion, after having studied at the studio I taught at for 9 years. At the time, I was working on my Anusara Yoga certification and sensed I needed more direction and modeling in this process. It almost seems like yesterday that I decided to cross the river to take my own classes. I never dreamed then that some day I would be teaching here, and would join the ranks of its incredible faculty. But here I am, and in many ways, it feels like I have been here all along. It is really my home and community in so many ways!

At some point during class, I noticed that my Guru thread had seriously frayed. It had been slowly unraveling of late. But later, as my students were lying down in Savasana, it fell off of my wrist completely, and gently.

In July, I wrote about attending a Guru Purnima service, where we honor the Guru - the True Teacher in our lives. The True Teacher is no more and no less that the Presence of the Divine within us. A Guru is also a teacher who comes to us at the right moment, sent by God to dispel darkness in our lives and to shine light. A Guru shows us the way. They say that when a student, is ready, the teacher appears. And on that 7th day of a Full Moon in July, at exactly 7:07 PM, the service of Guru Purnima began, culminating with a fire service where we burned papers symbolic of letting go what did not serve us.

And here I found myself, on 12th day of December - the twelfth month of the year, at almost twelve o'clock in the afternoon, when my thread disintegrated...

Later in the day, I spoke to another wonderful soul companion and yogini who entered my life nearly two years ago, shortly after this blog began and my life had changed dramatically. Our paths crossed in a workshop we attended, and we both bonded almost immediately. I shared with her, that now I could truly wholeheartedly state, that everything that happened was really for the best in my life. Blessings have been showered on me in ways most unimaginable!

And being a numerologist at heart, I cannot disregard the significance of all these numbers!

I may be somewhat quiet in the coming week. On Monday I leave for The Woodlands, Texas, and the home of Anusara Yoga - to meet with John Friend and the Curriculum Committee for Anusara, as we chart its future and work to standardize its teachings and bring it to a higher level. I am honored to give back in some small way to a beautiful method and system of yoga - that is also a way of life. But I am most honored to share this path with others.

It will be a blessing to be with my teacher and so many world class teachers to work together, to share, and to practice with each other.

Recently I joked with my own yoga teacher about having spent 5 days in a row driving to Maryland to teach, take class, and attend a workshop. She suggested that I move to that side of the river. But I told her I couldn't. I love my side of the river. I love the healing waters that I have not been able to immerse myself in for quite some time. I love my students and where I live. Besides, as I pointed out to her - someone has to spread the Anusara gospel in Virginia! There are a handful of us who are pioneers here - and we are making a difference I hope - one student at time!

Yes - 12-12 is symbolic of a graduation - and signals a bridge to the future! And what a magnficent future it is blossoming into!

Aligning With the Divine

Yesterday, I received Todd Norian's newsletter via email. Todd is an Anusara Yoga Certified Teacher, and a very gifted one at that. But then, I think that of everyone! I have often quoted his newsletter in this blog, because his thoughts are often very inspirational, and this issue was no exception.

Todd spoke of the various ways in which we can "align with Divine" and he drew his inspirational insights after teaching the Bhagavad Gita - a work I have often taught myself, and which is near and dear to my heart. For those of you familiar with this work, you will find a richer meaning in Todd's suggestions - but his insights are helpful to all us of us on the path who are seeking to align more closely with the Divine. In this excerpt from his newsletter, Todd creatively draws upon the wisdom of Anusara Yoga's Universal Principles of Alignment and deftly weaves them into the teachings of the Gita.

"This [teaching] inspired me to reflect more deeply on how I want to align more fully in the coming year. Why am I here? What do I want to offer? How do I want to live? What is the best way to live? What are the operating instructions for how to live well? Using some of the teachings from the Gita, I outlined a 10-step process below. I hope this is helpful.

In order to live more fully and make the best use of your time on this planet, do the following:

Step 1: Align With the Divine. Alignment is a choice. In every moment and every situation you get to choose. Your only choice is to act. Even inaction is action.

Step 2: Go to the Midline. Whenever you are faced with a challenge or a decision, go to the midline, the place of power, vision, perspective, and equanimity. It's the threshold between thought and action. (In the Gita, this is the middle of the battlefield, where Arjuna and Krishna have a conversation.)

Step 3: Expand your Vision. In the midline consult the Universal. Open to a bigger energy by softening your skin. Pause. Become sensitive and receptive. Connect to your breath and when you exhale release any self-limiting beliefs and anything that blocks your experience of the flow.

Step 4: Listen. Listen to the whisper of Source who is always guiding you. Become "clairaudient". (Represented in the Gita Samjaya).

Step 5: Be a Warrior of Truth. (Arjuna). Honor yourself. You are worthy. Feel your longing to make a shift, to align more fully to the Universal and unveil your true nature which is ultimate freedom and joy.

Step 6: Do Your Dharma. Choose to do your Svadharma (one's own calling). Have the courage to follow your heart. Your Dharma is unique. No matter how imperfect or lost you think you are, follow your instincts. Do the right thing. Align with nature. Doing your Dharma no matter how imperfecty is better than living a 'karaoke' life perfectly.

Step 7: Take Aim. Load the arrow of your heart. Draw the bowstring of intention. Take aim and align your heart, head, and body just right with the intention to serve the highest.

Step 8: Let it Fly! Act! Do it! Say It! Make the decision! Let go! Follow your heart! Step into your life!

Step 9: Ride the Shakti. Then take a ride on the Shakti for the sheer delight of it, for the thrill of experiencing the mystery, for the adventure of awakening!

Step 10: Let Go of the Attachment to the Results. You are only entitled to the action since you can't ultimately control the outcome.

Live to the fullest this holiday season!"

For more info on Todd Norian's work and schedule, visit:
www.deeppeaceyoga.com

I Believe in Miracles

I arise in the darkness and am drawn to meditation after a deep, and nourishing sleep...

I sit in the stillness, the gentle rain, and the quiet - and give thanks for so many things...

I marvel at the beauty of the last few days - sweet time spent with soul friends - and with a community of kindred souls...

I am grateful for so many messages given and received...

I revel in the opportunities to share with like-minded souls the blessings we have received and the incredible work God is doing in our lives...

I sit and I pray - and ask to be shown the way through some situations I must navigate - buoyed by the dearest soul companion who shared her own story and encouraged me to ask every day, to be shown the way - and be willing to discover that the path was always there in front of me - waiting for my recognition...

I share with a lovely friend and student - that despite whatever may be - or not be in my life - God's love and the network of supportive vibrant souls in my life - is enough!

I end another yoga session - as I have now for many years - leading my students through a modified yin practice and restoratives - inviting them deeply into the cave of their hearts - as I read them love poetry from my latest book - A River of Grace.

During the space of 90 minutes - our souls merge and blend into each other - dancing in the stillness - and we are One...

We end class with an mini session of "yoga nidra" - or yogic sleep which is a deep form of relaxation and restoration of the body, mind, and soul...

I thank my students for their companionship on this journey of the heart which has been so filled with grace. We have become a precious little community!

I bid them farewell until we meet again, and leave them with this blessing:

Seasonal Blessings 09

May this Sacred Season
Clothed in Silence and Stillness,
Inviting Simplicity and Surrender--
Bring you Fully and Deeply
Into Your Tender Heart,
Filling you to the brim
With Blessings and Joy,
And the Eternal Treasure
Of God's Undying Love

And may you, my dear reader, also receive this blessing! There are miracles all around us - small and more noticeable ones as well. I see them scattered all around me - like blossoms. I drink in their sweet scent, like the candle of myrrh and frankincense given to me as a gift by the loveliest soul that has ever graced the garden of my life.

I am grateful for the miracle of God's love made manifest in others - for it is in the hands, and arms, and the gentle kisses blown from the cave of one's heart into another's - that we are able to see, and know - and touch the Face of God.

(For A River of Grace and other works, visit:
http://stores.lulu.com/aligningwithgrace )

A First Snowfall and Seeking Your own Wizard

I arise on a day that will be filled with training in anatomy specifically geared for Anusara Yoga teachers, and feel joyous at the fact that the first snow fall of the season is softly coming down...

I rush down to the river, and walk down to where the water meets the pavement on the boat launch so wishing I could come inside this river that has so sustained me. It is gray and beautiful, and my yearning for communion with the river is almost overwhelming. It has been too long since I have paddled in these waters, but today, I must work my way to the other side of the river and meet many friends for the first of a two day intensive in anatomy training and how it specifically relates to Anusara Yoga and the Universal Principles of Alignment...

Still, it is peaceful here, and I wish I could stay a little longer, but with the weather being what it is, I expect the traffic to be slow...

Last night, Martin Kirk, an Anusara Yoga Certified Teacher, and a very enthusiastic one at that, initiated the training weekend with a beautifully led and instructed practice. As a teacher, I love to listen to - and embody the instructions of other fellow teachers - often gleaning greater insight into an action or clarity in my understanding.

Martin's chosen theme for the practice was "Finding your own personal wizard," and it was derived from the story of the Wizard of Oz. As every good Anusara teacher and student knows - a theme and its integration into a class plan or practice is an essential ingredient!

Martin re-told the well known story of the Wizard of Oz in a very magical way and showed us how the characters of the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scare Crow - were in essence the embodiments of the mind, the heart, and the body - and he illustrated how Dorothy was essentially trying to integrate all of three of these aspects in her life, as she journeyed on the Yellow Brick Road.

Dorothy's story is really at its core, very Tantric, because it teaches that what we are really seeking is already inside of us. Even the "Good Witch" tells Dorothy that she had to undertake her own journey of self-discovery to find this out for herself. Dorothy would not have believed it otherwise.

Martin went on to share that "shradda" - a Sanskrit word for faith - is really about a kind of faith that comes to us from our own experience. And connecting this to his theme, Martin showed how the process of finding your own wizard is really about finding that beauty and power within yourself. A great wizard sees the power and beauty that is already in you - and then hands it back to you.

Martin concluded by affirming that what we seek is under the rainbow - not over the rainbow...What seek is already in our hearts, and minds, and bodies. What we seek is always within.

I hope to share more about the training in the future!

A Yogini Garden of Twisted Sisters

I continued to teach my asana detox sequence of twisting poses to my beautiful Wednesday morning class. This was the third day of teaching this class, and some of my students were repeating it for the second time...

We had an incredible time, full of laughter and good cheer, and I was amazed at the very challenging poses that my students welcomed and embraced. I continued working with my theme of of unwrapping the ordinary, in order to disclose the extraordinary - which is at the essence of all things and all souls...

My students reported all kinds of results from the class - from actual physical detoxing experiences, to releasing deep seated emotions - to feeling nauseous, buzzed, or stoned!

It is amazing to note the incredible effects that the practice of yoga can have on our bodies, minds, and spirits...

One friend and budding yoga teacher who dropped in for class last night and honored me with her presence, shared this with me this morning:

"Ah...the exquisite soreness of right effort...
still basking in the effects of that class.
Loosened and wrung and unwrapped,
unwrapped and expanded."

I think I accomplished what I set out to do. I invited my students to let go of what does serve them and to unwrap the ordinary around them - so that their bright light within could shine forth much more brightly.

Ah, indeed!

Fling Open the Doors of Your Heart

On this day, we begin the last month of this year...

On this day, we experience the last Full Moon of the year and the special energies it brings...

On this day, filled with teaching, and some quiet moments in between, I receive this message by Michael Beckwith, sent to me by a dear and loyal friend:

"Today as you sit to meditate, make a commitment to fling open the portals of your consciousness and the doors of your heart as you ask how you may breathe each breath and walk each step as a free agent of conscious co-creativity.

Affirmation: Today I commit myself to my divine destiny as a creative being. I know every path is open before me as I consciously co-create with Spirit.

Enjoy your magnificent day.
Michael Beckwith"

And I would add these words by Thomas Merton:

"This day will never come again."

So live it to the fullest!