Aligning with Grace

Recently I responded to an article/blog post by a former colleague on her views about forgiveness, which were fundamentally different than my own. After reflecting on this entry for three days, I chose to respond to it, and today, I realized, after connecting with an old friend who had been sent my response - that perhaps others might find it insightful as well. I feel my comments stand on their own merit and that it is not necessary to link it to the original blog or the discussions it engendered. But since I did receive messages from a few persons who let me know it also spoke to them, I "reprise" my insights here, slightly edited and expanded for greater clarity. May you receive them in any way that is meant for you... "After reflecting on your well written and thought provoking piece on forgiveness for several days, let me be a lone voice offering another perspective, which is derived and offered from my own experience... I do believe in the power of forgi...

I had both the pleasure and honor to meet, and be able to speak to Sally Kempton , a respected meditation teacher, this past weekend, during a workshop she gave at Willow Street Yoga Center . If I had to summarize the workshop, I would simply say that it was about "Bhakti," the path of love - and deepening our relationship to the Divine... Today, I finished transcribing and typing nearly 33 pages of notes, and as I often do, I research or review references made, and include them in my notes. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am the "official" scribe for my local yoga community, and my notes usually circumnavigate the world. Or, so I often find out! As I reviewed my notes, and quotations from the workshop, I could not help but see, that truly, everything that matters, circles and comes back to love. Why are we here? We are here for love... What are we to do? We are here to love... And really, what else is there? In the 14th century, Julian of Norwich , an English mys...

I arose on a magnificent morning, after having been gifted with an extra hour of sleep - and drove over to the other side the river to take a yoga class with the teacher that I have studied the longest with, and who is truly gifted and compassionate. I arrived early, which was good, because it was practically standing room only! All came from far and wide to imbibe more tales about Hanuman! My teacher continued to work with themes related to Hanuman , and today the focus was on Bhakti - which is understood to mean "the yoga of devotion." We were encouraged to offer and experience our poses as an expression of self-love, which is often a neglected aspect in the practice of devotion. As part of the centering, we were read this beautiful poem by Hafiz, one of my favorite Sufi poets: No More Leaving At some point Your relationship with God Will become like this: Next time you meet Him in the forest Or on a crowded street There won't be anymore "leaving." That is, G...

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 ...