Aligning with Grace

"Forgiveness is really not about someone's harmful behavior: it's about our own relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is primarily a practice for ourselves." ~ Gina Sharpe, The Power of Forgiveness Forgiveness is a spiritual practice. It is a very powerful practice. And perhaps the most difficult. It is not for the faint of heart. But as the quote above notes, it is primarily something we do for ourselves - for our own inner growth and well-being, and research bears this up. Today, Jews all over the world commemorate the " Day of Atonement ," which has always been one of my favorite spiritual days. I often put my own spin on the traditional practice of Tashlich . I go down to the river not far from my house, and I meditate and pray. I think of all of those who have hurt me - and those that I have in turn hurt. And I say whatever arises in my heart, but it often goes something like this: " I ask ...

Nearly twelve years ago I started this blog after a visit to the Potomac River, which is about a mile from my home. I had not planned on writing, I just came home and did so, following an inner prompting. For years I came down to the river regularly. One year, it was almost a daily occurrence, and I sat on a bench during all seasons to do some meditative practices which evolved over time and transformed me in the process.  Recently, I received a message which I perceived intuitively. "Go back to the river. And take up these three practices once again. You need them!" And so, I listened. Over the course of the next few entries, I will share these easy practices with you. They are simple practices, but powerful ones. As I mentioned in my last entry, the purpose of spiritual practices and prayers is to transform ourselves, not others. Although others may change as a result of our own evolution as a spiritual being, that is not the focus here. It is about...

Recently I finished reading the small gem of a book, Living Beautifully With Uncertainty and Change , by Pema Chödrön , a well known Buddhist practitioner, writer, and teacher. In this book, she speaks of three commitments that are essential to the spiritual path, and this week, I chose to use the third one, "committing to embracing the world just as it is," as a theme for my yoga classes. To accept the world as it is, is not easy. In fact, most of the time, it is quite difficult, especially when things are not unfolding the way that we planned. But one of the qualities we often notice when we embrace any practice - be it meditation, yoga, prayer, communing with nature, and so forth - is that over time, we become less reactive and we more easily accept things as they are. Here is some wisdom from this wonderful little book: "The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing e...

I began teaching yoga again this week, after two months of resting and recuperating after surgery. I decided to use as my theme, the first sutra in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - "atha yoga nusasanam," or, "Now is the time for yoga." Every fall we say goodbye to the summer, and we greet the nascent season, by saying yes to our practice once again. When we begin anything - a project, a degree, a school, a job - there is an initial hesitancy, and fear - and enthusiasm - as we embrace what will be - but what is also, not yet... When we are ready, the universe conspires to assist us in undertaking whatever task or desire we have at hand... The new book, The Path of the Yoga Sutras: A Practical Guide to the Core of Yoga , by Nicolai Bachman , develops key concepts of the Yoga Sutras , in order to shed light on the these simple, pithy directives and assertions. The word "atha" - implies readiness and commitment on our part. The first chapter of this book begin...

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...

Yesterday, I quoted a wonderful article, "Blessing Heart" by Sally Kempton , the well known and loved meditation teacher. Giving blessings is a powerful form of spiritual practice that Sally writes about - and it can lead to deep transformation and healing on many levels - for the one sending the blessings, and the one receiving them as well. In Sally's words: "When we offer blessings, we align ourselves with the force of grace that runs through the universe. We become channels for the higher power. And according to some of the mystical traditions, this is the hidden purpose of human life. The Vedic sages, whose culture is the basis of the Hindu tradition, believed that one special function of human beings is to create conscious bridges between earth and cosmos. They did this through invocations and offerings, and bracketed their practices and ceremonies with mantras we chant to this day - Lokaha samastah sukhino bhavantu - May all beings be happy... Grace is everyw...

I continue to reflect on the notion, the observation, and the reality - that life is practice, and practice is life - as I teach and sub for a number of yoga classes this week, and as I reflect on my own life, its most pressing interior issues and concerns, and the work that I must do and am currently engaged in... I remember how not too long ago, during meditation, a beautiful mantra arose from deep within my heart, unfolding simply, and softly whispering to my soul, "Everything in God, and God in everything..." I recall insights that brought such solace, from Sally Kempton , the gifted meditation teacher, who observed, that spiritual development is never linear, but spirals forward and backwards, as if in a dance, as we evolve and expand, sometimes needing to retreat and drawn in, before we can journey more deeply in our growth... Once again, I am touched by an essay of hers - I read it in the late evening, before bed, and it beautifully encourages and suggests the dedicati...

This entry, seems to very perfectly follow in the footsteps of yesterday's posting...In fact, I almost titled it, "Life as Practice, Practice as Life Part 2!" I finish the first phase of organizing my books, a feat that has consumed several weeks in stops and starts - many arms filled with them, and boxes carried down to the basement - others juggled and redistributed from one room to another, but now the organization and rearrangement is much more logical and methodical, and volumes will be easier to find. All my theology and spirituality books from many decades of teaching and study, occupy one wall - with one shelf for example, exclusively dedicated to my massive collection of Thomas Merton writings, and multiple offerings by other authors, now all gathered together. Everything now feels right... I find that I have two copes of Inviting Silence: Universal Principles of Meditation by Gunilla Norris , and though I have read this brief volume many times before, I curl u...

We can live - or simply exist... We can live simply - embodying the extraordinary in the ordinary - or not at all... We can live deeply, transformatively, and well, and when we do - our life itself becomes our practice... I've been reflecting on the broader meaning and implications of practice. For those of us who practice yoga, we dedicate much of our time and focus on the practice of doing asana - or poses - setting ourselves the goal of achieving certain postures, or deepening in them. But, what happens when you cannot do asana the way you once did? Or, what happens if all of a sudden, for one reason or another - you are unable to sustain a physical practice at all? If you have cultivated a broader perspective of practice as one that is fundamentally a spiritual path, then asana is merely just one aspect of what constitutes your practice. What then, is practice? What does it mean to you? What does it look like now? How will it evolve in 20, 30 or 50 years from now? I picked up a...

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 arise in the morning with the freshness of the day, and very much sensing the energy of a new month... I sit in meditation, more deeply and longer than I have in weeks, and I am ready to re-commit myself to my path once again... My day becomes consumed with painting a spare bedroom off of my home yoga studio - and I realize, that every time I am in the midst of major transitions in my life, I paint a room! I recall a couple of years ago, when I was still very much in the throes of depression, sitting in an airport, and reading how the color of a room contributes very much to one's moods - its elevation as well as its descent into denser regions. I came home, and painted my bathroom the loudest, in my face, yellow that I could find - to tackle the depths of winter and the gathering storms of whatever darkness attempted to settle in my mind. I painted with the intent that this shade of yellow give voice to what I could not articulate in that moment. I willed it to assertively screa...