Aligning with Grace

I have been reflecting more on the relationship between offering blessings and happiness - and trying to embody these, in my actions and deeds as best as I can. As often happens when we focuses our thoughts on a particular subject - we draw more of the same into our energy field - so that everything we read or encounter reminds us of its importance. This morning, as I read a post by Marianne Williamson on Facebook - and the inspirational poem and newsletter that arrives in my inbox every morning, I found that all three had a word of wisdom for me - and so I share them with you today: "Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." ~ Denis Waitley "Each day, we must learn again how to love, between morning's quick coffee and evening's slow return." ~ Barbara Crooker "Five minutes meditating in the morning literally blesses your entire day. It expands time, calms your nervous system, restores your cells, a...

I have a dear friend who always signs her letters and emails with "Blessings..." A year or so ago - I remember my teacher, John Friend - the founder of Anusara Yoga say to a gathering of his teachers - that one of the most important practices we could ever do was to send blessings to others - especially to those we have difficulty with. He noted that we could radically shift the energy of a situation, a room, or even a person. I have observed a significant shift in how I feel and act, since I have been doing the practices suggested in my previous blog entry. I am looking at situations or individuals that I couldn't imagine feeling positively about - very differently - with gentler eyes and a compassionate heart. There is a softness to how I am seeing and experiencing things. And, I breathe more deeply...All good! I've come to realize that, that when we embody practices of forgiveness and gratitude - and send loving thoughts to all things and all people - it results ...

Yesterday morning, I had a long conversation with a dear soul friend while I was out on my deck, under a cloudless slate blue sky and gentle fall breeze, during which we shared so much on so many levels - particularly insights - right down to personal aspects of our respective meditation journeys. It had been a while since we had shared in this way, and I enjoyed the experience of every moment fully. I was totally present and in the moment... I shared with this friend, some personal struggles, and more details of my recent private lesson with a gifted yoga teacher - who is her own life-long, dear friend. In fact - it was this precious soul I was speaking to - who led me to this just as equally wonderful soul and gifted teacher at a very opportune time in my life. As a result of working on the practice I was given during my private session, and embodying it more deeply, I was gifted with profound insights about my life, my body and my practice, leading to breakthroughs in my meditation ...

I sleep in, for the first time in a while...The singing birds and gentle fall breeze kisses me awake... I make espresso and sit out on my deck, under the canopy provided by mighty oaks, poplars, and evergreens of all sorts, delighting in the moment... Two weeks ago, I visited a yoga teacher who had been mine for several years. I went at the behest of a dream the previous night. She too, had dreamed of me. There were more incredible details to this dream that miraculously drew us together again... Three days ago, we reunited again, for a private that was nothing less than a sacred meeting of souls. This gifted angel "saw" what I needed, and provided the needed support and assistance which both my soul and body needed... Interspersed with her sequencing and strong healing hands that gave me the right adjustments, were gems of wisdom, addressing what she observed, poetically flowing, like manna for my bruised spirit... "Find your breath! Find her! Say to yourself - 'Let...

As often happens, when you are entertaining a particular subject - everything that comes your way seems to reinforce it. We magnetically draw to ourselves more of the same! The September edition of Yoga Journal addressed the impact that our exploding reliance on technology is having on us: "In her days as a Wall Street trader, yoga teacher Chrissy Carter used to sit in front of five computers tracking stock prices. But Carter says her technology use now - staying in touch with students via email, and social networks - is actually more stressful. 'Being so available all the time, and feeling obligated to respond quickly can leave me feeling pulled in a thousand directions,' she says. 'I use my Blackberry so much, my thumbs hurt.' With the explosive growth of smart phones and social networks in the past few years, people's lives are more saturated with technology than ever, which is a challenge if you want to stay connected with your peaceful nature... Constant...

Unplugged... Definitions: "To remove a plug from, to free from an obstruction, to disconnect..." I might add: " To reclaim time - and a healthier relationship to it...To experience the present moment more fully, to dwell in the eternal now..." Recently, on my vacation - I experienced time "disconnected" from the Internet, from my computer, and other such devices... Yet, while I walked around the city, observing others engaged in their quotidian routines, I was struck by a legion of souls, walking down city streets, oblivious to their surroundings, obsessively texting messages, checking email, or "surfing the web" on their mobile phones... Even the woman sitting next to me on the plane - on one of the legs of my flight back home - ignored the dictate given by the flight attendant to turn off her phone after the door of the plane had been closed. Instead, she continued doing stuff on her Blackberry, and I wondered, what in the world could be so im...

I look into the eyes of a biker - and I wonder - what it would be like to be him...On some level I know...Only from that place of oneness can I ever truly know... From that place - I know what is in his soul - just as I know how it feels to be fully Conscious on the tip of my toe... This place of Oneness calls me...And when I am there, I am not held captive by my head or my senses...I am only there... Namaste! When you are in that place in you - and I am in that place in me - there is only Oneness...We are only One! Unison Benediction Return to the most human, nothing less will nourish the torn spirit, the bewildered heart, the angry mind: And from the ultimate duress pierced with the breath of anguish, speak of love Return, return to the deep sources nothing less will teach the stiff hands a new way to serve, to carve into our lives a form of tenderness and still than ancient necessary pain to preserve Return to the most human, nothing less will teach the angry spirit, the bewildered ...

On this cool and breezy morning, I strolled out "ISO" of the perfect cup of coffee, and I found it at Blenz , on the corner of Burrard and Robson, in downtown Vancouver. I ordered a Latte Macchiato with a just a hint of maple, that was to literally die for! The barista, took her time, artistically composing a unique and exquisite lattice design on the creamy foam. My delicious coffee was accompanied by an almond croissant, totally covered with encrusted almonds that was unlike anything I had ever tasted! There I sat, on a bar table, looking out at the small trickle of humanity, making its way to work, with an explosion of flavors, I dutifully and indulgently savored and almost considered obscene! I sipped my coffee for what must have seemed like an eternity, feeling like Julia Roberts, in Eat Pray Love , enjoying every morsel of her decadent pasta, with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano , descending from the heavens in slow motion, as if shaked out of the skies by the very g...

Once in a while, a book falls into your lap that is almost heaven-sent. It arrives, and when you read it, you realize it is precisely what you needed! Walking Through Illusion , by Betsy Otter Thompson , was such a book for me. This work reminds me of so many others - Conversations with God , by Neale Donald Walsch , A Course in Miracles , and The Disappearance of the Universe , by Gary R. Renard, just to name a few. If those books spoke to you, this one will as well. So much of what I read, rang so true and deep for me. The author, an intuitive, connects with the spirit of Jesus, and presents very powerful messages and insights in a very engaging dialog comprised of questions posed and answers given on a number of relevant topics and subjects that thoroughly examine our beliefs, and our notions of morality, truth and death. In all - twenty-three subjects are thoroughly explored. The topics in question are examined through the lens of Jesus' relationship to some of the apostles an...

I arise in the early morning, compelled by the sweet urgings of a dream, that enlightens me as to how to begin a magnificent Sunday morning... It is cool, and quiet, and before making my way to the other side of the river, on the day before Labor Day, directed by a dream to visit the yoga teacher I studied with for three years but have not visited in nearly two, I am profoundly inspired by three verses that ford the rivers in my heart, and offer sweet guidance for the day... "I rise to taste the dawn and find that love will shine today." ~ Ken Wilber "There is morning light inside of you, waiting to burst open." ~ Rumi "Arise, and drink your bliss for all that lives is holy." ~ William Blake So I arise, and ride to the other side of the river, knowing that I will receive something I am meant to have today... My teacher and I greet each other warmly. She tells me that she too, was given a dream about me, and I share the incredible details of mine with her.....

I AM Infinite! Free! As God Created ME! ALL Is Inside ME!

A New Mantra arrives In bits and pieces-- In several delicious slices, Forever altering my consciousness A New Mantra arrives Leaving its footprints On the Hallowed Ground And fertile soil of my soul I ask to be shown the way-- And I say, "Make it clear!" And so, I receive this, As a gentle stirring, Deep in my soul: "I am Infinite." Then, a short time after, I am given, "I am Infinite. And I am free." I chant this assiduously For weeks on end, And it takes me to a Place-- Blissful and Expansive And Utterly Delicious I inhabit this Place, Between worlds and dimensions... And yesterday, During deep restoratives, This New Mantra is unexpectedly And most decisively completed, With one Haunting Echo... "I am INFINITE! And I am FREE! Everything I need-- Is inside of me." A New Mantra arrives In bits and pieces-- In several delicious slices Forever altering my consciousness A New Mantra arrives As a gift sent from the Beyond, By the Beloved, Through th...

A new month arrives - its welcome energies - crisp and clean - signaling a major shift. The days are growing shorter, and I look forward to the coming fall season and all that it will bring. New months always remind me of opportunities to begin again, and new seasons offer that as well. This time of year invariably issues a call to journey into greater introspection as well... We step into the last quarter of the year, and it issues an invitation - like Anusara Yoga - to step into the currents of grace, on and off the mat. My teacher, John Friend , the founder of Anusara , shared these insights on Twitter in the last couple of days: "Grace = Growing Revelation as Consciousness expands." "Our stairway lies on the whispering wind of Grace." This summer brought illness, unexpected time for reflection and reassessments, and a challenge to grow more deeply in many aspects of my life. Change and growth are never easy, but they are, as John Henry Newman once observed, t...