Aligning with Grace

References to the heart continue to abound this Lenten season, but also passages, musings, and a deep and innate desire for reconciliation... I shared this with a dear soul companion recently, and she asked me what it was that I was feeling I needed to be reconciled to. God? Others? And I realized that what I meant by reconciliation is so much more... The Bhagavad Gita , a beloved scripture of Hindus, teaches there are many "margas" - ways, or paths to the Divine. For example, there is the path - or yoga of action - of good deeds and doing our duty. There is the path of karma - intricately linked to the choices we make. There is the path of devotion, and the most refined path, which is the way of meditation. But I believe, there is also the path of reconciliation... Implied in the definitions for this word are the notions that reconciliation is about making something consistent or compatible - or seeking harmony or resolution between two opposites in the midst of estr...

For the last week or so, I have been reflecting on a teaching from the Bhagavad Gita , which instructs that we should do our work - and then let it go... More specifically, the teaching is really about how we are never entitled to the fruits of our actions. It is certainly our choice whether to act or not in a situation. We are in "control" of that, so to speak, but we are never in control of the outcome of our actions. It does not belong to us. It belongs to God. So teaches this text, beloved to so many... And by the way, even our choice not to act - it is in itself an action. So, we are never truly free from choice... In some ways, this is very freeing - if we truly understand the teaching and internalize it. And if we do, it means we must let go of  all expectations - and if we truly do that - then we cannot really feel hurt by what others do - or do not do, in our lives... In fact, we wouldn't even be concerned with what others do or do not. (Am I sounding lik...

Late yesterday afternoon, as I was tackling the grueling traffic on the beltway, here in the Washington DC area, on my way to teach my weekly yoga class at Willow Street Yoga Center, I asked myself, "What do I know?" In other words, what have I learned that has shifted my consciousness, or my perspective recently - or what I have learned or practiced that has enabled me to deal with life's circumstances or curve balls. Earlier this week, I read the article "Who Do You Think You Are?" by Sally Kempton on the site: Patheos.com In this article, Sally discusses how to work with "avidya," a Sanskrit word which describes the basic ignorance of who we are, and she cites Sutra 2.5, of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra . This is what Sally has to say: "'Avidya,' the sutra says, 'is to mistake what is perishable for the eternal, what is impure for the pure, what is sorrow for what is happiness, and the not-Self for the True Self.'" I've r...

Last night I finished reading Sally Kempton's wonderful gem of a book, Meditation for the Love of It. She acknowledges the reason we meditate is simply because "we are ultimately in it for love." I thoroughly enjoyed this work, but found the last few chapters particularly helpful because they accurately addressed many of my current experiences. I felt blanketed in the comfort of what Kempton keenly observes and affirms, and the needed insights supplied, that will fortify me on this continual path toward deepening meditation... For example, Kempton wisely observes and echoes great meditation masters in affirming that: "The most important signs of spiritual progress are revealed in our character, our ability to maintain equanimity, our power to keep the mind clear and still, our compassion and kindness, our clarity, and our capacity to hold our center." And truly, what else is there in this journey we call life? Kempton reminds her readers over and over again, ...

Deep into the night, I read these words, that Paramahansa Yogananda once spoke to Sri Daya Mata , the woman entrusted with leading the organization he established: "Be so drunk with the love of God that you will know nothing else but God; and give that love to all!" Yogananda says this, in response to a question asked by Sri Daya Mata , who cannot imagine how his work will continue without him. Sri Daya Mata recently passed, after leading the Self-Realization Fellowship that Yogananda established and entrusted with his teachings and writings. She was the spiritual mother of Yogananda's disciples and devotees for 55 years - having assumed its direction in 1955, the year that I was born. I reflect on how this incredible woman, was faithful to her Guru for my entire life span... But, I am also deeply moved by these words, and try to imagine what it would be like to embody them, in every moment, experience, encounter - and even beyond that - in every thought and action a...

Freedom comes when we least expect it. It has its own time-table, and is subject to its own laws... I think of this, as I drive in the wintry morning darkness, that is also foggy and misty and still snow covered, looking so much like a Christmas card, with the sun slowly rising... The load seems lighter in my heart, as my friend's spirit soars higher and higher into the skies... My heart offers practices from the Tibetan Book of the Dead , meant to aid a soul in its passing. Yet, I sense that my friend's spirit already did most of its clearing on this side of the veil... I knew this moment was eminent - most especially when I wrote my last entry... And now, in the quiet, and in the stillness this evening, as the sun goes down, marking the end of another day, that is barely 24 hours since my friend's passing, I reflect on my urge to sit in meditation yesterday, at exactly this same time... I look at the clock right now - and it is 5:55 PM - the numeric symbol for Christ Cons...

I've been thinking a lot about renunciation and detachment, and the process of letting go... Such things are never easy, and I wonder if they are ever fully learned, because they seem to arise as lessons we must re-visit over and over again... I attended a book club this weekend, and the selection chosen was Ram Dass' Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita. I realize now, I was meant to read this book, because of some very specific lessons... I'll start off by saying that I've never been particularly drawn to Ram Dass or his writings, and I only heard him speak once, about six years ago. And while some parts of this book are genuinely dated, and stem from a series of lectures he delivered on the Gita in the seventies, there were still some parts that spoke to me, and to a number of things that I have been reflecting on these last few weeks... So, I have chosen to note some of these passages here. I could write a dissertation on each one of these passages - and on the n...