We Are Sufficient Unto Our Own Joy
Yesterday I had the pleasure, the honor, and the blessing to teach the Bhagavad Gita - the sacred love song that that Divine sings to us, at the Yoga Center of Columbia, in Maryland, to a group of dedicated and bright souls - mostly from the Anusara Yoga Immersion.
The day was one of sheer magic and delight for me - to be in the midst of fellow Anusara certified teachers - Lucy, Cheryl, and Kathy. Together we explored the Gita from both a Vedantic and Tantric perspective.
The Bhagavad Gita is a richly textured and poetic work that is packed with perennial truths and insights. It is framed within the context of an outer and inner conflict as well as an outer and inner and more intimate conversation exploring the most fundamental questions and concerns pertaining to existence: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is my duty? Who is the Divine? What is my relationship to the Divinity? This delicious work considers such fundamental issues and concerns such as love, action, the meaning of life, the nature of the soul, life after death, eternity - and everything that is fundamentally at the heart of a human experience. And, it offers the sincere seeker many diverse paths of yoga for attaining union with the Divine...
Graham Schweig, a scholar of the Gita believes this work ultimately presents the message that the Divine is so in love with us - and wants from us the only thing it cannot have and that only we can give - nothing more and nothing less than our love. In addition, he believes that the Gita's fundamental teaching is an invitation to offer every one of our acts with devotion and love...
I used a number of commentaries and translations, but as I explored a more Tantric interpretation of the Gita, I referred to Dr. Douglas Brooks' recent study guide, Poised for Grace. From this book, I offer these illuminating highlights:
"We are sufficient unto our own joy...
God is wholly present in each and every possibility.
We are always connected...
How do we experience the Divine more fully while living?
No matter where we are - we must create an experience of alignment...
The way things really are, are precisely the way they are meant to be. We are able to perceive this with with an equanimity of awareness..."
This last quote especially resonated with me, in light of my previous entry, "Clarity is Freedom."
I realized, that when we do our inner work, we not only free ourselves - but others as well - from a bondage that we unknowingly impose and bestow. When we let go of our attachments and resentments and the expectations we have of others - we release them to be fully whom they are meant to be - truly giving them the freedom of choice and space to indulge in their own explorations - at their own pace - and according to their own karma. This was a moment of profound clarity for me...
I know that nursing resentments and hurts do not serve, and the greatest way to dissolve these is through the constant cultivation of gratitude and the acceptance of all that is. Every day should begin and end with an expression of gratitude...
Things are always what they are meant to be - for us - as well as others. Life is continually lived in lesson. Every moment, and every possibility contains within it the seeds for the manifestation of indescribable blossoms. Every moment discloses the Divine...
I feel full and blessed today - for the many friends in my life who continually show me the way towards a more realized and whole expression of my deepest essence. I smile now, recalling a wonderful hug yesterday with a true soul sister.
I am full and blessed today - for the opportunity to sit yesterday, in the seat of the teacher - flanked on either side by two luminous souls - supported by their love as I shared from the heart the beauties of a most magnificent and ancient scripture. It was sheer joy to share this experience with them - and I cannot help but think it is the culmination of both committed work and love in service to the Divine - shared through many lifetimes...
I am full and blessed today because truly - every opportunity contains within it the possibility for knowing, loving, and sharing the Divine...
And, as I have often quoted a dear friend - "What else is there?"
The day was one of sheer magic and delight for me - to be in the midst of fellow Anusara certified teachers - Lucy, Cheryl, and Kathy. Together we explored the Gita from both a Vedantic and Tantric perspective.
The Bhagavad Gita is a richly textured and poetic work that is packed with perennial truths and insights. It is framed within the context of an outer and inner conflict as well as an outer and inner and more intimate conversation exploring the most fundamental questions and concerns pertaining to existence: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is my duty? Who is the Divine? What is my relationship to the Divinity? This delicious work considers such fundamental issues and concerns such as love, action, the meaning of life, the nature of the soul, life after death, eternity - and everything that is fundamentally at the heart of a human experience. And, it offers the sincere seeker many diverse paths of yoga for attaining union with the Divine...
Graham Schweig, a scholar of the Gita believes this work ultimately presents the message that the Divine is so in love with us - and wants from us the only thing it cannot have and that only we can give - nothing more and nothing less than our love. In addition, he believes that the Gita's fundamental teaching is an invitation to offer every one of our acts with devotion and love...
I used a number of commentaries and translations, but as I explored a more Tantric interpretation of the Gita, I referred to Dr. Douglas Brooks' recent study guide, Poised for Grace. From this book, I offer these illuminating highlights:
"We are sufficient unto our own joy...
God is wholly present in each and every possibility.
We are always connected...
How do we experience the Divine more fully while living?
No matter where we are - we must create an experience of alignment...
The way things really are, are precisely the way they are meant to be. We are able to perceive this with with an equanimity of awareness..."
This last quote especially resonated with me, in light of my previous entry, "Clarity is Freedom."
I realized, that when we do our inner work, we not only free ourselves - but others as well - from a bondage that we unknowingly impose and bestow. When we let go of our attachments and resentments and the expectations we have of others - we release them to be fully whom they are meant to be - truly giving them the freedom of choice and space to indulge in their own explorations - at their own pace - and according to their own karma. This was a moment of profound clarity for me...
I know that nursing resentments and hurts do not serve, and the greatest way to dissolve these is through the constant cultivation of gratitude and the acceptance of all that is. Every day should begin and end with an expression of gratitude...
Things are always what they are meant to be - for us - as well as others. Life is continually lived in lesson. Every moment, and every possibility contains within it the seeds for the manifestation of indescribable blossoms. Every moment discloses the Divine...
I feel full and blessed today - for the many friends in my life who continually show me the way towards a more realized and whole expression of my deepest essence. I smile now, recalling a wonderful hug yesterday with a true soul sister.
I am full and blessed today - for the opportunity to sit yesterday, in the seat of the teacher - flanked on either side by two luminous souls - supported by their love as I shared from the heart the beauties of a most magnificent and ancient scripture. It was sheer joy to share this experience with them - and I cannot help but think it is the culmination of both committed work and love in service to the Divine - shared through many lifetimes...
I am full and blessed today because truly - every opportunity contains within it the possibility for knowing, loving, and sharing the Divine...
And, as I have often quoted a dear friend - "What else is there?"
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