The Swan: Grace and Beauty and Power of Self

I cannot sleep. And so at dawn I rise and go down to the river...

The tumultuous past weeks, in my Anusara yoga community, have taken its toll on so many. I can almost hear the voices of despair, sadness, and anger, and once more I recite the Reiki Precepts, reminding myself to not worry, not to be angry - and to be compassionate for everyone...

But in my heart of hearts, here down by this river, I also acknowledge, truly, for the first time, that there is such a diversity of opinions in this torn community, represented by three Facebook pages, that the community that once existed, can never again come together in any sort of configuration. There are too many perspectives that cannot be reconciled. I am saddened by this. But, it is also a call to step into our power, and more fully acknowledge our connection to the Divine...

Just as I am about to leave and come home, I spot a magnificent and noble swan on the other side of the river. I have never seen one here...

I have a painting over my bed, done by an artist friend of the family, now deceased, with a magnificent swan as well, that was painted at Rock Creek Park... I do not realize the significance of this painting over my bed - until this moment!

I realize the Swan is giving me an important message...

"Ham Sa..." This is not only the Sanskrit name of the Swan, but it is, in itself, a Sacred Mantra as well...

"I AM THAT!"

I and the Divine are One!

My heart feels buoyed by this simple message of love, and hope...

I drive home and look up the totem meaning of swan and read this:

Grace, Beauty, Power of Self

"The Swan is one of the most powerful
and ancient of totems.

As you begin to realize your own true beauty,
you unfold the ability to bridge new realms and new powers.
Swan can show you how to access the inner beauty
within yourself and others.

A Swan totem heralds a time of altered states of awareness
and the development of intuitive abilities.
Swan people have the ability to see the future,
and to accept the healing and transformation
that is beginning in their lives.
Accept your ability and go with the flow.
Pay attention to your hunches and inner knowledge,
and Swan medicine will work through you.

The Swan's call teaches the mysteries of song and poetry,
for these touch the child and the beauty within."

And then, I receive the following message in my inbox, and I am reminded once more, that everything that I need is already inside of me:

"No matter how painful our early experiences were, our Essence cannot be harmed. Our Essence is waiting for the opportunity to reveal itself. In a very true sense, we are waiting for the opportunity to become ourselves. Our spirit is yearning to break free, to express itself...

And yet, ironically, we always fear and resist opening to that which is most real in us. When we trust in the process and give ourselves over to it, however, our true nature comes forth. The result is real integrity, love, authenticity, creativity, understanding, guidance, joy, power, and serenity: all of the qualities we are forever demanding that personality supply."
~ Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson

And so, once more, favorite words by Rumi come to mind, which simply affirm the messages received on this morning:

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

Giving Voice to the Inner Voice

Three weeks ago, a tsunami rocked my Anusara yoga community. This morning, it sort of reminded me of an antique vase shattering after watching an episode of "Downton Abbey" last night. Once it shatters, you can never put the pieces back together again. Like Humpty Dumpty. At least, not in the same way. Not ever.

The interesting thing that I've noticed - and many others have as well - is that either we've found our own voices - and all of a sudden feel free to teach with more authenticity, and creativity - and by not judging ourselves against a "checklist." And this is certainly, always a good thing...

On various blogs and pages, I read time and time again how many individuals are giving voice to their inner Voices... And this is shared, by teachers who have resigned, and those who haven't - choosing instead to wait and see...

So, in the midst of so much chaos - internally and externally - many teachers are feeling more empowered. And again, this is a good thing.

I realize, that this community will never again be the "vase" it once was. But growth often takes us down different paths. Who can really say - they have practiced this or that - or taught this or that - or believed in something all of their lives?

I started life thinking I would teach theology for the rest of my life. Until my own beliefs were at variance with some of what I had to represent. I could not stand in integrity and still represent the institutions I worked for.

Though I never formally "resigned" Anusara, choosing instead a "sabbatical" - and by that I mean I did not send in a formal resignation to Anusara - it doesn't seem to matter anyway. I have been on several lists of "resigned" folks floating around and my name has "mysteriously" disappeared from the directory anyway. Does that matter? Not really. The directory is not accurate in more ways than one...

But does it matter to me? Not really... Does it change who I am or what I am - or what I do or what I teach or who my friends are and what I care about? Not really...

One of the things that I have learned through this process is that things are not always what they seem. In these last few weeks we all have shown ourselves at our best and sometimes at our worst.

What I do know - is that for the first time there isn't just one voice that predominates - but that each and everyone is articulating his or her own perspective - no longer afraid of being outside "a circle of trust" or "inner circle" or whatever it might be. People are speaking out - speaking their minds - and teaching more authentically. People are questioning everything - examining everything...

People are giving voice to the Inner Voice, and that is ALWAYS a good thing!

The River Heals

The morning is beautiful - warm and yet breezy - birds are singing everywhere - and it is more reminiscent of a day that would normally come about a month later...

After my morning meditation, I head down to the river, and step into the waters, it is a baptism of sorts. I intend to cleanse away much of what has consumed my life of late, and instead, begin focusing on beginning anew...

Like I did for years at the banks of this river, I take time - to breathe in the fresh air, as my eyes also absorb the broad expanse before me of undulating waves that come towards me - to recite the Reiki Precepts and do Lovingkindness meditation for myself, my Anusara community, for its previous leader, and for those - known and unknown - secretly hurting by all that has transpired...

I do my own personal variation of Lovingkindness - the one that served me so well - and nurtured me and guided me out of depression - beginning with myself, and then adding many more to my recitation afterwards:

"May I be filled with Lovingkindness.
May I be well.
May I be at peace and at ease.
May I be happy."

And then, I recite the Reiki Precepts, slowly and mindfully. They too, were very healing at a certain time of my life. Indeed, coming to this river has always been healing...

I cannot share the version of the Precepts that were given to me by my teacher, Frans Stiene, (since it is passed on from teacher to student) but I share a version that is in the public domain:

"Just for today, I will not be angry.
Just for today, I will not worry.
Just for today, I will be grateful.
Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing."

Today, the breeze that touches my face and invigorates my lungs, heals. Today, I am reminded, that it is another day.

Today, spring is in the air, and I know that I - and everyone that chooses to do so - can begin again...

I know this, because I believe in hope...

Beyond Wrongdoing

"Out there
beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing
there is a field,
I will meet you there."
~ Rumi

On this day of Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent, I take time to go church, get my ashes and reflect on my own wrongdoing, and ask for forgiveness for so many things. The readings and the homily for some reason, touch me very deeply, perhaps in light of all the recent events in my Anusara yoga community.

Yesterday, my entry reflected my initial preparation as I enter this season... It pains me to see so much separation in my community, but I am also heartened to see the flames of unity sparking in the broad expanse of so much divisiveness...

I told my students this morning, that this season is about Hope, because it coincides with spring, and Easter - which is symbolic of Resurrection. And spring, never fails to come - no matter what...

And I realize, there cannot be any rising without dying...

We cannot give birth to something new, without letting go of the old...

This is just a simple fact of life...

So for me, this Lent takes on a much deeper meaning. As I help members of my community give birth to the new - I must look within - and decide what within me impedes that...

Why? Because out beyond wrongdoing and rightdoing - there is a field - where we can all be ONE. Let us meet each other there...

And so, I drove back from Ash Wednesday services, listening to a wonderful CD that was given to me a year ago on Ash Wednesday entitled "Beyond: Buddhist and Christian Prayers." It is beautiful and haunting, and a collaboration between Tina Turner. Dechen Shak-Dagsay and Regula Curti, who were moved to produce a series of original compositions blending Tibetan, Gregorian, and other Buddhist chants, after the Dalai Lama and the Abbot of a Benedictine Monastery in Switerland met and shared dialogue and prayer together. And this is what many in my community are doing right now - dialoguing through social media - and returning to the practices that nourish their souls.

What else is there?

And so I end, with this beautiful spiritual message from Tina Turner on the CD:

"Nothing lasts forever, no one lives forever, the flower that fades and dies, winter passes and spring comes, embrace the cycle of life, that is the greatest love.

Beyond takes you into the place where love grows, when you refuse to follow the impulses of fear, anger and revenge.

Start every day singing like the birds - singing takes you beyond...

We all need a repeated discipline, a genuine training to let go our old habits of mind and to find and sustain a new way of seeing.

Prayer clears the head and brings back peace to the soul.

Sing - singing takes you beyond...

We are all the same, all the same, looking to find our way back to the source, to the ONE, to the only ONE.

The greatest moment in our lives is when we allow ourselves to teach each other.

Sing - singing takes you beyond...

To become quiet to hear the beyond. To become patient to receive the beyond. To become open to invite the beyond and be grateful to allow the beyond. Be in the present moment to live in the beyond.

Start every day singing like the birds - singing takes you beyond...

LOVE grows when you trust. When you trust LOVE heals and renews. LOVE inspires and empowers us to do great things and makes us a better person to love. LOVE makes us feel safe and brings us closer to GOD.

When you go beyond that's where you find true love.

Keep singing - singing takes you beyond..."

"Out there
beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing
there is a field,
I will meet you there."
~ Rumi

Looking Deeply Within

As uncertainty continues to haunt many within my yoga community, on this day, which is Mardi Gras - following Maha Shivaratri, The Great Night of Shiva - I begin to turn my attention to the coming season of Lent...

When I used to teach theology, I used to tell my students that Lent wasn't a time so much for giving up things - like sweets or watching TV - but that it is instead, a time to acquire something. It is a time for interior growth and a time to cultivate a quality you would like to more deeply embody...

So today, I take a moment to reflect and prepare, by doing an "Examination of Consciousness," by engaging in a simple practice popularized by St Ignatius of Loyola, and here simplified by Jim Manney, from The Prayer that Changes Everything:

The Examination of Consciousness

Ask for light.
I want to look at my day with God's eyes, not merely my own.

Give thanks.
The day I have just lived is a gift from God.
Be grateful for it.

Review the day.
I carefully look back on the day just completed,
being guided by the Holy Spirit.

Face your shortcomings.
I face up to what is wrong - in my life and in me.

Look toward the day to come.
I ask where I need God in the day to come.

And while this is normally a practice to be done at the end of the day, I find it appropriate to consider it now, in this moment, almost two and half weeks after my Anusara yoga community was split apart.

Why? For these reasons...

I realize that I have failed, and I have contributed to some of the misunderstandings, miscommunications, and so forth that have engulfed us individually and collectively as a community...

I realize that I have misjudged others and misinterpreted information...

I realize I have been less than charitable at times and have contributed to fueling flames...

I realize that this situation is holding up a mirror to where I need to do some work...

I realize that I am not without fault in much of what continues to happen...

I realize that every time I think something or someone is a certain way - it is quickly dispelled or overturned... I am far from "all-knowing..."

I realize I have not truly been compassionate or forgiving...

I realize I haven't really and totally let go...

And I realize - that I must let go - and let God...

Today, on several occasions - I witnessed members in my community I hardly know - or did not care to know - open their hearts. I misjudged what was there, and for that I am wrong, and deeply sorry...

Today, I also experienced unconditional love from sources I did not expect...

I choose to enter into this season of deep cleansing, of healing, of transformation and growth culminating in Resurrection with compassion for myself and others - for our failings and our shortcomings...

What will be, will be... Yes, that is true. But we can choose how we will be, in all of it...

Wait and See

On this eve of Maha Shivaratri, the Great Night of Siva, when it is said that prayers and mantras are magnified 10,000 times, I ask a few dear ones, to encircle their own with mine, for this is a time of great need in our yoga community, and in the much larger community of peoples on this planet...

On this day, which stands on the threshold of the another season of Lent, always a time of prayer, introspection, and spiritual cleansing for me, I am mindful of the importance of setting strong intentions for the good, for healing, and for emanating as pure a vibration as possible for a community's transition...

This is a time when everything is possible. It is a time of letting go of the old and embracing the new. It is not a time of resurrecting what no longer serves. It is the time to boldly go where no one has gone before...

No one said that 2012 was going to be easy...

I am in a wait and see mode. Yes, wait and see...

Evolution takes time. Yesterday I read these words online, offered up a soul not involved in the current drama involving my yoga community:

"Opening fully to the unwanted is the key to Awakening."
~ Ezra Bayda

Transformation, transition, birth and subsequent growth, takes time. Seeds are planted in fertile soil. We must patiently wait to see them bear fruit. Likewise, we instill the values and teachings we want our children to embody, but we must wait to see them grow and shoot up like trees and make us proud... This is not a process we can "fast-forward."

Do the work that is necessary, but wait and see... Nothing happens overnight...

I never make rash or spontaneous decisions. I reflect, I pray, I seek counsel. I lay everything at the feet of my Beloved. And I wait, and see...

And so, I leave you with various quotes that I read in a book I was reading last night, and that I saw posted by others in my yoga community, that spoke to my soul.

I take them into my heart, and I ponder them all deeply, as I wait and see...

"Moment by moment,
things are losing their hardness;
now even my body lets the light through."
~ Virginia Woolf

"We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE. And this deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every other, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and the object are one."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If something has even the smallest spark of life, be it a discarded plant or broken bird, I can't stand by and do nothing. No one is immune to being knocked to the ground by the fast moving, or shiny. I'll offer my effort toward a Grace-filled conclusion and/or a Grace-filled beginning. Isn't this the very least that we can do for Anusara Yoga, our kula, and John Friend?"
~ Jamie Allison

"My intense anger, confusion, and disappointment
have dissolved into curiosity, freedom and true joy
for what my own life
and this community is to become."
~ Charlotte Clews

"In times of challenge,
may we listen with courage and sing with hope.
In times of ease,
may we listen with gratitude and sing with love."
~ Ross Rayburn

Let us till the soil. Do the work. Plant the seeds. Then wait and see...

Cleaning House

It was cool and crisp and windy when I went down to the river this morning. Waves were lapping and foaming at the riverbanks, almost as if it were in its washing cycle.

I felt both light AND full of light, even though the events and drama of Anusara yoga have consumed practically every waking moment of my life for the last couple of weeks. It is hard not be overwhelmed by the massive amount of pain, hurt, anger, confusion, and uncertainty floating around out there. You can literally drown in it. But still, I feel grounded. And strong. Like an oak tree. And I conveyed this to several who called or wrote concerned about how I was.

It was too cold to stay by the river for very long, but I was struck by the the huge number of crows huddled about in various groups throughout the park. What was this? A convention? Since I have a tendency to read signs into everything, I came home to look up the meaning of crows and this is what I found:

"Crows are the keepers of the Sacred Law
and to have a Crow totem is very powerful.

Personal Integrity are your watchwords and your guide in Life.
If you have a Crow totem, your prime path
is to be mindful of your opinions and actions.
You must be willing to walk your talk,
to speak your truth and to know your life's mission.

Crow is an omen of change.
Crow lives in the void and has no sense of time,
therefore, it sees past, present and future simultaneously.
Crow merges both light and dark, both inner and outer.
It is the totem of the Great Spirit and must be respected as such.

They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength.
Look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life.
Crows are messengers calling to us
about the the creation and magic that is alive in the world today
and available to us."

Every word rang so true, and it was so descriptive of what many of us have been experiencing in the wake of the allegations against John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, a method that so many of us embodied and dedicated our lives to.

While a community is now in turmoil and there are several discernible camps, I also see new seeds being planted that in time, will yield fertile growths.

I came home, and engaged in domestic activities - cleaning, doing laundry, and vacuuming - relieved at returning to the mundane. The Divine is also disclosed in the mundane...

I came home to clean out my house - and my heart and my soul - of all that no longer serves to make room for the new - which is not yet - but which will most certainly come!

I make room and am also midwife for something being birthed anew!

To Err on the Side of Compassion

Today it rains...

But I tell myself that on some level it is is truly cleansing. I want to let go of so many feelings I have harbored of late - not all of them positive. Some of these have included harsh judgment. I have not always erred on the side of compassion these last couple of weeks, and I don't like that about myself. So, as I drive in the rain, honored to go take the seat of the teacher in my own teacher's seat - I resolve to forgive myself for my own failings - so that I can truly forgive others their own...

And yet it feels today like the aftermath after the explosion of a bomb. An era has ended, and all that remains is devastation.

I am reminded of a poignant scene in the movie "The Pianist," when Adrian Brody, the actor who played a Polish Jew, who was also a gifted concert pianist, steps into freedom after having spent months hidden in an apartment. But the city of Warsaw is in complete ruins and it practically took my breath away. Nothing but rubble for miles to see. What was it like to actually see that? And how could anyone have had it in him or herself to rebuild from there?

This scene is so haunting and very symbolic for me right now. How does one rebuild such a mess? Think for example, of how long it took to clear out the debris of the Twin Towers after 9/11... And I know what that looked like, because I saw it with my own eyes...

And yet, as a community, rebuild we must, and rebuild we will, but most probably in some different way. I believe a phoenix always rises from the ashes. I really do. Because I believe in Hope! And I believe in love and community.

Today, I feel a lot of compassion - most especially for a mortal man who fell so highly from grace. No one should be judged by their worst transgressions, as I said to my students and friends this week. Look at what was created! We would not have become this community reaching all the corners of this planet, nor would we have been given the tools to heal ourselves and others had not one man's vision taken us there. That does not change...

As one wise colleague observed: Be careful what you ask for when you open to grace! Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get! So true! You ask to receive what you most need for growth on so many levels and you get that - but maybe not packaged in the way you were expecting...

Another wise colleague offered that we should consider our own shadows, especially in this moment when so many are focusing on the shadows of one individual. This also rings true for me...

This week, I played off a famous quote by John F. Kennedy and asked students to:

"Ask not what Anusara yoga can do for you, but what you can do for Anusara."

Meaning - do not ask what this practice can do for you. You already know the answer to that. You have already received what you needed from it on so many levels. You are here! You've experienced community and well-being.

Instead, consider what you can offer to your community of teachers and students who are hurting, who are angry and are in pain. What gifts do you have to offer? Tap into that - and shine it out!

Yes - we acknowledge this minefield before us - and devastation that knows no bounds. But love will prevail. I REALLY do believe that!

Let us support one another and rebuild. But let us do it with compassion for all - the transgressor and the transgressed!

Who Am I?

I step out early to get the newspaper, and I am greeted by a spectacular sun-kissed morning...

I ask myself, "where am I?" Because it feels like heaven! Everything is vibrantly alive!

I hear birds chirping and it feels like spring...

I hear a Voice within that affirms, "it is now springtime in my soul..."

The newness of this day, is a striking contrast to the beginning of yesterday - which in turn was the end of the situation that consumed my life - eating me alive for almost two weeks. Today, that is now behind me. Today, somehow feels refreshing, but also unsettling, and yet still pregnant with unimagined possibilities and incredible freedom...

Where do I go from here?

And then I ask - that famous question poised by Sri Nisargatta Maharaj - "Who am I?"

I am not my degrees...

I am not my credentials...

I am not this body, or this ethnicity, or this age...

I am not the style of yoga that I taught...

I not this religion or that one...

I am not what someone else wanted me to be...

I am none of the things that I think I am - and yet, I AM THAT!

Today, I have the opportunity to begin again. I have the opportunity to be - whomever I wish to be - and do - whatever I wish to do - and teach - in whichever way feels right and genuine and truly comfortable - from my heart, from MY truth and not anyone else's...

Today, I begin to explore and seek the Eternal Answer to the question "Who am I?" And, "to Whom do I belong?"

I pursue this sacred inquiry, within the context and framework of a nascent springtime in my soul...

What I Believe and Carry in My Heart

Today, I made a very difficult decision...

I decided to step away from the Anusara yoga community that I have been a part of. It is painful but it feels right at this time.

There are times you need to listen to your soul and your heart...

And so today, on Valentine's Day, I choose to be true to mine...

And why? Because I asked for a sign - and I received it. And, I am being true to what was given to me...

There are many blogs and articles out there about why many teachers are leaving, or have done so. I am not going to go into any allegations. What I will say is, that I have gradually felt pulled to live a more interior life of prayer and meditation, and less asana. I am also spiritually reconnecting with my roots...

That being said, I am grateful to John Friend and his teachings over the years for it changed my life and the lives of my students...

I am most grateful for the community of souls that I am a part of - I would never have met them otherwise. Our hearts are still one...

I am grateful for all the students that have come into my life - past and present - for they have taught me more than I could ever give them.

I am grateful for the connections made across this planet - and for all the trainings where I met one or two souls that touched my own profoundly...

I choose to step away, but hold everyone in my prayers and meditation as a community heals and gives birth to something new...

I choose to do this because - I believe in the Power of Love.

I Believe in the Power of Prayer and Meditation.

I Believe in the Power of Spirit - of God - or whatever you choose to call IT.

I Believe in the Power of Healing.

I Believe that no one should be judged by their worst transgressions.

I Believe in the Power of Transformation.

And most especially, I believe in the Power of Forgiveness.

What I Have Learned and What I Know

Every once in a while, your house is shaken to its very foundation...

The ground beneath you starts to yield. It feels like quick sand...

But, if you stand tall in your Light and your connection to the One, then you weather IT. You weather everything. I believe that...

And this is only partially what I have learned - what I know - and what has been brought to the Light...

Love is stronger than fear...

What affects the one - affects the many. And what affects the many - affects the one...

Light and Love prevail...

Everything is not what it seems. What is unreal can be real - and what is real can be unreal...

And nothing real can be threatened...

Always err on the side of compassion...

We are here to learn - if we choose to do so...

Community sustains. We are part of a whole...

We are accountable for what we do to others and what we do to ourselves...

We are here to shine our light into distant corners...

Silence is not always golden - unless it is used for self reflection...

Forgiveness is part of love, and everything can be forgiven...

Healing is always possible...

To whom much is given, much is asked...

We are all free - to be - you and me...

For every action - there is an equal and opposite reaction...

Whatever is uttered reverberates eternally...

To err is human, to forgive is divine...

We are responsible for our actions and the pain we cause others...

No one is infallible...

No one has a cornerstone on the truth...

No one is perfect...

There is a way, and it is the way of the heart...

And the way of the heart is Love...

We come to know Love in true, and dedicated practices. In our commitment to something greater than ourselves. And in community, where we must be held accountable...

Your greatest love and greatest enemy often hold up the mirror to where you need to do the work...

Ask, and you shall receive...

And all, ultimately shall be well...

I do believe all of this, and so much more...

Go into Your Heart and Roam

A few days ago, my eyes glanced upon a book I had read back in the early eighties. I pulled The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen down from my bookshelf, and flipped through it, looking at what I had chosen to underline or make a note of then.

What enables us to go more deeply into the heart? This is the question I posed to my yoga students this morning...

What is the way of the heart? When we go into the heart - what do we experience there?

Different responses were given: love, wonder, compassion, and so forth.

I noted, that when we go into the heart and live from there - we experience oneness.

Nityananda, the sage of the Siddha Yoga lineage, once said:

"The heart is the hub of all sacred places. Go there and roam!"

We must go into our hearts to experience oneness. But the experience of oneness, also leads us back into our hearts.

Our practices lead us to experience oneness - and unity in diversity. It is in the heart that we know that we belong to each other. Our practices make our hearts more expansive, and when we are lost, they lead us back into the heart.

A dear friend shared this, and I in turn shared it with my students:

"When you look at the earth from outer space, you do not see a 'one' and an 'other.' All forms of life expressions are one life. This awareness is always in your heart. The challenge is to realize this at all times. The heart is cosmic, it is the refuge for the greatest wisdom known."
~ Shantimayi

This afternoon, my acupuncturist asked me how I was doing implementing my two goals for the year - that of simplicity and compassion. I was able to note some progress, because I was definitely spending more time in my heart.

Today, recognize that the heart is the repository of so many sacred treasures - and the temple of the Divine. Today, go there - and roam! Lose yourself in its beauty!

The Way of Love - The Way of the Heart

In her book, Living in Gratitude: A Journey that Will Change Your Life, Angeles Arrien, notes that "February is the month when we consciously review what touches our hearts." It is after all, the month where we celebrate Valentine's Day.

She shares this quote by Brother David Steindl-Rast:

"The heart is where we belong.
We belong there as to our proper place,
no matter how estranged we have become.
And we are there, we belong,
because what makes home home
is that each belongs to all and all to each..."

And it is this sense of belonging, and being in the heart which is the way of love, and enables us to be more grateful.

Just a few moments ago, I read this very appropriate quote by Paramahansa Yogananda:

"To develop pure and unconditional love
between husband and wife, parent and child,
friend and friend, self and all,
is the lesson we have come on earth to learn."

Such a simple lesson, but not always an easy one to always embody - now is it?

Pearl Bailey, wisely noted the following:

"What the world really needs,
is more love and less paperwork."

What really takes up more of our time on a day to day basis? We all want love. In fact, Arriens observes that "to learn how people want to be loved, we need only look at the way they love." So true!

Arriens shares this wonderful practice from the Dalai Lama to cultivate more love and gratitude in our lives:

1. Spend five minutes at the beginning of each day remembering that we all want the same thing: to be happy, to be loved, and to feel connected.

2. Spend five minutes cherishing yourself and others. Let go of judgments. Breathe in cherishing yourself, and breathe out cherishing others. If the faces of people you are having trouble with appear, cherish them as well.

3. During the day, extend that attitude to everyone you meet - we are the same - with "I cherish myself and you too..."

4. Stay in the practice no matter what happens!

This month, stay open. Be grateful. And love. With abandon!

"Tenderness and kindness...
are manifestations
of strength and resolution."
~ Kahlil Gibran

"Prayer is not a substitute for work,
thinking, watching, suffering or giving;
prayer is a support for all other efforts."
~ George A. Buttrick

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.
Have you used one to say thank you?'"
~ William A. Ward