Remember Who You Are

On this day of national remembrance - when we recall and honor the lives given, lost, and offered for our freedom - I invite my students to remember who they really are...

We come to the mat to remember who we are at our deepest essence. And who are we? We are nothing more - and nothing less than an Infinite reflection of Divine Love made manifest in such diverse colors and unique expressions, that it creates a breathtakingly beautiful rainbow...

I think of these wonderful insights, posted yesterday, by Anusara Yoga certified teacher BJ Galvan, and I share them with my small community of students - one facing surgery for cancer in two days, another who has just gone through a great loss, a third who just found out she will become a grandmother when it did not seem probable or possible...So many experiencing so much on so many different levels. But what is life, if not a multitude of expressions and journeys colliding in a collage of vibrant colors?

Remember Who You Are!

You are Total and Infinite Love.
You are Devotion.
You are Conscious Breath.
You are Clarity.
You are the Light.
You are Consciousness.
You are The One. (And I add - The One who is One - with THE One).
You are Sacred Text. (Perhaps - the only Gospel that another will know...)
You are PRESENCE.
You are Compassion.
You are SPIRIT.
You are UNION.
You are Divine Inspiration.

When we forget these things - we do not remember...

I teach, what I must learn - what I need to embody - and what I constantly forget...

When we connect to our back bodies - to the Universal - to the Divine - we soften - and we open - and we Remember - but from a place of incredible Support - so that - as a dear student and friend noted - we will not feel so exposed...

I tell my students to bow into their hearts - and visualize a magnificent sun rising in their hearts - expanding exponentially - for that Invincible Summer we envisioned in the depths of this violent and intense winter is now upon us - and I ask them to remember always who they are - in every act, in every word, in every moment - and in every breath - for each breath is an invitation to connect with the Universal - with the Divine...

I tell my students - as my own teacher, John Friend - the founder of Anusara Yoga reminded us at the recent gathering of his teachers - that I could not lead them to remember and to connect with the spiritual essence of the practice if I did not first believe in the Divine. I could only do what I do - by being in service to the Divine in my teaching, but most especially, in my practice of meditation and asana...

So often, I forget who I really am - and allow sadness, and lack to enter my life, as I did yesterday...But then, I step onto the mat, or sit in meditation, and my practice reminds me who I really am, again and again, and yet again...

This morning I received these words by Paramahansa Yogananda, into my heart, as I prepared to teach my class:

"Sorrow, illness and failure are natural results of transgressions against God's laws. Wisdom consists in avoiding such violations and finding peace and happiness within yourself through thoughts and actions that are in harmony with your real Self. Govern your mind wisely by dwelling upon the positive aspects of life..."

Once, more an invitation and exhortation to remember always, who you are...

And who am I?

I am the Beloved's and the Beloved is mine...

Late last night, in a day when I forgot who I am and allowed despair to take hold in me and reign throughout my day, God sent me an unexpected message - in the form of a love poem from the mystical writings of St. John of the Cross, and reminded me once again, to remember who I really am - someone always precious in His eyes:

"'I am dying darling, what should I do?'

And the Beloved responded,

'Then die my sweetheart - just die. Die to all that is not us;
what could be more beautiful?'"

I am never alone. I am sweetly urged to remember who I am, and I drift off into deep sleep, embraced by the Divine...