Throughout history wise men and women have encouraged us to feel grateful for what we have. Very simply because gratitude makes us feel good! When we feel grateful our mind is clear and we have access to our greatest wisdom. This has me thinking about Patanjali's yoga sutra 1.2 "Yogas Citta Vrtti Nirodaha"...simply translated, yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. When we still the endless fluctuations of our minds we connect with our deepest self. This is the essence of yoga: merging, unifying with the divine within us and the divine that permeates everything in the entire universe. We suffer most when our choices result from external influences like comparing ourselves to others or living in the past/future. Today, I hope that we can take a moment to get quiet, connect with our deepest selves, to still the chatter that we are anything but divine, to feel connected and simply take in the abundance that is all around us. Love to you all and Happy Thanksgiving!
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I've been reading the book "The Way Back from Broken" written by a dear friend
Amber J. Keyser. In the first page of her book she offers these words from The Epigrams of Lusin..."Hope is like a road in the country: there was never a road but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence". It got me thinking about hope and desire. Often, we are taught to practice acceptance, to be ok with what is and accept things as they are. But we have to be mindful that our acceptance doesn't slip into complacency. It seems a slippery slope. In my experience creativity follows desire. You desire something in your life and sometimes it's not immediate that the road to your desire is evident. So you have to get creative and cultivate patience and awareness, but never lose sight of hope. As we find a way to move toward our desire, we are creating a road there. What is it you hope for in your life? Is there a desire you are not allowing to come forward because at first glance it seems too big, unattainable, or somehow, you feel you are not worthy? Can you start, right now, to create a road there through awareness, self love, acceptance, forgiveness. Can you let your practice be a living prayer for the road toward your desire to come into existence? Meditation... Imagine yourself walking through a forest carrying your desire tenderly in your heart. You come to a clearing where you see a river flowing. There is a wooden footbridge crossing the river. You walk half way across and feel the power of the river below you. You turn to look downstream and you release anything that no longer serves you in attaining your desire...fear, self doubt, complacency. You utter the words out loud and allow the river to take them away and it does, graciously. You take a moment to feel gratitude for the release. Then, you turn around and look upstream. You see potential, infinite possibility flowing abundantly toward you and you invite the creation of your desire to come into you freely, with your arms wide open. You let the river's gifts come flowing into you not at random, but in full conscious creation. You take a moment to feel gratitude for these gifts. Being free of that which no longer serves you and bearing the gifts of infinite possibility, you continue to the other side of the footbridge where you unapologetically begin to create the road to your desire. It's a beautiful summer morning and my family and I are getting ready to head out for a little family vacation to celebrate the start of summer! We return this thursday 6/18. Classes are all subbed out til Thursday. Please see my class schedule to see who is subbing. Sending you all love and I'll look forward to seeing you soon!
I've been sprinkling the theme of "play" into my classes lately and it feels amazing! Actually, play has seemed to seep it's way into most activity and deeply enhanced the overall quality of my days. It started by watching this TED talk by Stuart Brown on play. Play defined...To do activity for fun or enjoyment, freedom...we "play around", to behave or operate in a frivolous manner, to be playful or loose. Exploration is the act of investigation. Anything learned during play is knowledge gained withour the perception of being hard work. Dr Gwen Dewar Ph.D wrote, "When learning is percieved to be arduous, our ability to stay focused may feel like a limitted resource that is drained over time. The state of 'flow' is the psychological experience of being totally and happily immersed in what you're doing. Play is an obvious gateway to the state of flow." Play is a "state of being", purposeless, fun, pleasurable. For the most part the focus is on the actual experience, not on accomplishing a goal. This is sounding a whole lot like yoga!!! "Play is the highest form of research" - Albert Einstien  Today I remember my dear Grandma, Audra Belle, who gifted with me with the wisdom to "leave every place you go better than you found it". She was one of the most loving, gentle and graceful people I've known. 
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AuthorI love when life drops gems of wisdom right before me. Sharing them with you is a joy. Archives
November 2015
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