One of the avenues that we must travel down eventually on the path to the heart's full expression into the world---is how we engage with the physical world around us--and how to cultivate a fully loving and supportive relationship with the world.
The more we align with the fire of the heart, the more we connect to the inherent oneness of the world--we realize that we are the world and the world is us. I love the following description from Deepak Chopra who gives a great example of how we must connect to the heart to shift from thinking to awareness, from mind to heart--then back again in the context of building a right relationship with the earth.
"The best thing you can do for the planet is to shift your perception. There is no hope of healing the planet as long as the word 'environment' means something separate from you. Each of us has built our happiness on ignoring the Earth's balance. We wouldn't do that to our own homes: who would tolerate a living room filled with decaying garbage? We wouldn't do that to our own bodies: who would deprive their body of half the oxygen it needed? So, forget that you ever heard the word 'environment.’ Instead, think of ‘my world’, and look upon Nature as ‘my body’ in extended form. Having done that, treat the world with care and intimate regard. This should be your guide to a new way of being happy. Until millions of people have made the same shift, saving the planet will remain a worthy cause that never quite gains the whole-hearted support it needs".
The truth is we can "do" all we want and the little steps surely help. However, the most radical and most powerful shift begins within the heart/mind connection. A Course In Miracles says that "A miracle is just a shift in perception" and a miracle is truly what we need to save our relationship with the earth.
This is not about wishful thinking, or wishing the problems of the world to go away. In fact it's the opposite--it's about becoming real and checking ourselves back into the relationship. It's like we're the lover who abandoned our partner and left the house in shambles and decided that we didn't have to do anything and that someone else was going to take care of the mess we left behind.
However when we connect to the path of the heart and begin to feel the shift from smallness to the vast all encompassing reality of who we are--the oneness, the richness, the sweetness of possibility and potential of this human experience--we have no choice but to go back to our lover and clean things up. We must atone and with humility and deep reverence apologize and at the same time be grateful that our partner is resilient and capable of healing beyond our comprehension.
Must connect now and invite the shift into our hearts fully and make it a practice everyday to see ourselves intimately connected to the earth and her ways. To think of ourselves as a lover, a partner, and in the love relationship feel the union of possibility.
In every choice we make we ask not is this good for me--but is it good to the whole of me. Not the small me, but the vast me--the me that is in union with all that is--the earth and all her inhabitants. Can you feel the enormity of every decision play out and the chain reaction of effects that it has on all parts of your unified body and consciousness.
When you deeply get this your life will transform and you will no longer be capable of making decisions that are not rooted in deep love to the earth. But you must be willing to love yourself whole heartedly--all of you.
If you can sit down and meditate right now and begin to do this work of shifting your perception. Focus on your heart and breath deeply into the heart. Begin to feel your heart beat and relax into the vastness of the heart. Begin to visualize the earth as best you can and when you see it clearly place it lovingly into the chamber of your heart. Breath consciously into the earth and place your awareness into the center of the earth. Feel your essence there feel connected and at home there. Feel yourself as earth and feel yourself expanding to fill the earth with your essence. When you feel alive inside the earth from the rootedness of being inside and all through the earth--channel your awareness back into the heart of your physical body and feel the essence of yourself as earth inside the power of your heart. Feel the radical shift of aliveness--the hum of the earth inside the beat of your heart. Feel the union. Be the union.
In every act you put forth into the world ask yourself is this the best I can do in the spirit of love? Does this actions serve "me" out of convenience or is there a better choice that would serve the vast ME and contribute to the health and well being of all those who reside in vast expanse of the heart of hearts.
Love to you all!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Modern Day Disciple
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."-- Goethe
I was inspired by this passage and am using it as a frame work for inviting tapas into the practice for this weeks classes.
“Tapas” is a powerful concept laid out in the Yoga Sutras. The word “tapas” comes from the Sanskrit verb “tap” which means “to burn”. The traditional interpretation of tapas is that it is “fiery discipline”.
When I had brought this up to my class at the beginning of our session today many of the students responded with nervous laughter :) Tapas it seems has quite a reputation! The idea of discipline and especially fiery discipline it seems can trigger certain responses of fear, trepidation, or resistance.
I reminded my students that Tapas really is the invitation into the depth of practice. Tapas is commitment to the practice and to the awakening of our spirit through the work. We know from our time on the mat--even after the first time there, that the "work" and the ritual of practice has far more power than we could ever imagine. The discipline comes into being when we feel the fire of commitment to invoke that magic on a conscious level time and time again.
It's the old saying "you know what's good for you, and you like what's good for you, but sometimes you still choose not to do it anyway". Sometimes we just need the fire of Tapas to bring us back to the practice--to remember what it means to be a disciple ready to learn and burn from the practice.
The word discipline comes from the same Latin root "discere" as discipleship; it means, literally, "to learn." So Tapas really is the burning enthusiasm/desire to learn and to be a student. Yoga is incredible because it is not only the study of the self, but the study of the current of life. You become a conscious student of life--not in an abstract way--but in a deeply relevant way--life as it manifests through you!
Practice then becomes an invitation to immerse oneself in the intensive of life. Every practice becomes a ritual of learning--a dynamic synergy between student, teacher, classmates--a circle of knowledge and learning fueled collectively by those thirsty for knowledge.
The words from Goethe that I feel invoke the potency of Tapas are "Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" Tapas is boldness. It's the path of learning in which one shifts from just being a receiver of knowledge to one who is pursuing knowledge. One who can not only listen but also simultaneously explore. One who can feel magic and power in ritual and use the ritual as a doorway, a path towards a higher learning.
Tapas then begins to take on a fresh meaning one not laden with fear or hesitancy--but one that requires the seeker, the disciple to awaken to empowerment. You set the intention , and the practice (the teacher) takes steps to light your fire even more, and the practice grows within all involved in the learning process. The more drive you bring to learn the more your practice will illuminate and brighten your path of self discovery.
May we all remember what it means to be a disciple--ready to learn--ready to burn!
I was inspired by this passage and am using it as a frame work for inviting tapas into the practice for this weeks classes.
“Tapas” is a powerful concept laid out in the Yoga Sutras. The word “tapas” comes from the Sanskrit verb “tap” which means “to burn”. The traditional interpretation of tapas is that it is “fiery discipline”.
When I had brought this up to my class at the beginning of our session today many of the students responded with nervous laughter :) Tapas it seems has quite a reputation! The idea of discipline and especially fiery discipline it seems can trigger certain responses of fear, trepidation, or resistance.
I reminded my students that Tapas really is the invitation into the depth of practice. Tapas is commitment to the practice and to the awakening of our spirit through the work. We know from our time on the mat--even after the first time there, that the "work" and the ritual of practice has far more power than we could ever imagine. The discipline comes into being when we feel the fire of commitment to invoke that magic on a conscious level time and time again.
It's the old saying "you know what's good for you, and you like what's good for you, but sometimes you still choose not to do it anyway". Sometimes we just need the fire of Tapas to bring us back to the practice--to remember what it means to be a disciple ready to learn and burn from the practice.
The word discipline comes from the same Latin root "discere" as discipleship; it means, literally, "to learn." So Tapas really is the burning enthusiasm/desire to learn and to be a student. Yoga is incredible because it is not only the study of the self, but the study of the current of life. You become a conscious student of life--not in an abstract way--but in a deeply relevant way--life as it manifests through you!
Practice then becomes an invitation to immerse oneself in the intensive of life. Every practice becomes a ritual of learning--a dynamic synergy between student, teacher, classmates--a circle of knowledge and learning fueled collectively by those thirsty for knowledge.
The words from Goethe that I feel invoke the potency of Tapas are "Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" Tapas is boldness. It's the path of learning in which one shifts from just being a receiver of knowledge to one who is pursuing knowledge. One who can not only listen but also simultaneously explore. One who can feel magic and power in ritual and use the ritual as a doorway, a path towards a higher learning.
Tapas then begins to take on a fresh meaning one not laden with fear or hesitancy--but one that requires the seeker, the disciple to awaken to empowerment. You set the intention , and the practice (the teacher) takes steps to light your fire even more, and the practice grows within all involved in the learning process. The more drive you bring to learn the more your practice will illuminate and brighten your path of self discovery.
May we all remember what it means to be a disciple--ready to learn--ready to burn!
Friday, May 22, 2009
The ocean and the wave
My theme in classes this week as been the invocation of the water element--Jala Namaskar. In the first part of the week I focused on weaving together movements that helped us to align with the currents of our breath much like a river and allowing the body to tap into the current helping to create a pathway for the river to flow through with ease. Just like in nature--over time a river carves out its pathway through the thickest of earth--we too can carve through with the water element the thickest of "earth" in us as well. The movements of the practice were very fluid, creative, and liquidy.
Later this week I focused on invoking the power of the ocean as it expresses its waves. I brought in the principle of opening to something bigger (which makes the sides of the body long, head of the arms bones draw forward, and creates a strong kidney loop *puff*) We sometimes refer to this as opening to grace. In the practice this week I was referring to it as receiving the power of the ocean and as we moved from that power expressing the unique wave of movement from that depth and strength.
You can think of the movement into the ocean like cat pose, but with power and focus. Think of the tides receding and going back into the fullness of the ocean from which they came, and then with full force come back. Think of a Tsunami that draws back and then with intensity unleashes its strength again. The idea is that we are a part of something much larger and in practice we can align with that to create more depth and power as we express our uniqueness and personalization in the practice.
The emphasis was also that when a wave expresses itself out of the ocean, what we see is it's peak out of the body of water, but it's important to remember that below the surface its power is still connected to the ocean and the power of the wave begins from underneath not above. So as our wave expands, we have to remember to stay connected to the body of the ocean. Keeping our depth while expanding our fullness.
It's a basic evolutionary practice of transcending and including. As we evolve, we also hold space for the energy that made the leap possible. So as we tap into the back of the body and feel its power we don't then just let it go into the wave. We draw into it and skillfully navigate the waters as the wave hits it's peak and begins to move back towards the ocean or earth it still does with the remembrance of the inner energy it took to draw it's strength from.
For example in a backbend such as Ustrasana (camel) You would open to something bigger and feel the back of the body expand (draw into the ocean) from there keep the ocean buoyant and full and lift up out of it keeping the sides long, the kidneys lifting to support the spine, lifting the heart with the tips of the shoulder blades, feeling the power of the wave curling the shoulders, heart, head and neck all back together--keeping the wave beautifully symmetrical so the spine is one wave of energy. Keeping it not just a wave, but a wave with the support of the ocean. This same principle can help to reduce the bananas in your inversions as well. You want to feel a deep ocean of support before you express the wave of uniqueness in each pose. Something of depth to refine the beauty.
O friend , understand: the body
is like the ocean
rich with hidden treasures.
Open your innermost chamber and light its lamp
-- Mirabai
May we all dive in and find the possibility for great expansion and powerful expression of our innermost treasure!
Later this week I focused on invoking the power of the ocean as it expresses its waves. I brought in the principle of opening to something bigger (which makes the sides of the body long, head of the arms bones draw forward, and creates a strong kidney loop *puff*) We sometimes refer to this as opening to grace. In the practice this week I was referring to it as receiving the power of the ocean and as we moved from that power expressing the unique wave of movement from that depth and strength.
You can think of the movement into the ocean like cat pose, but with power and focus. Think of the tides receding and going back into the fullness of the ocean from which they came, and then with full force come back. Think of a Tsunami that draws back and then with intensity unleashes its strength again. The idea is that we are a part of something much larger and in practice we can align with that to create more depth and power as we express our uniqueness and personalization in the practice.
The emphasis was also that when a wave expresses itself out of the ocean, what we see is it's peak out of the body of water, but it's important to remember that below the surface its power is still connected to the ocean and the power of the wave begins from underneath not above. So as our wave expands, we have to remember to stay connected to the body of the ocean. Keeping our depth while expanding our fullness.
It's a basic evolutionary practice of transcending and including. As we evolve, we also hold space for the energy that made the leap possible. So as we tap into the back of the body and feel its power we don't then just let it go into the wave. We draw into it and skillfully navigate the waters as the wave hits it's peak and begins to move back towards the ocean or earth it still does with the remembrance of the inner energy it took to draw it's strength from.
For example in a backbend such as Ustrasana (camel) You would open to something bigger and feel the back of the body expand (draw into the ocean) from there keep the ocean buoyant and full and lift up out of it keeping the sides long, the kidneys lifting to support the spine, lifting the heart with the tips of the shoulder blades, feeling the power of the wave curling the shoulders, heart, head and neck all back together--keeping the wave beautifully symmetrical so the spine is one wave of energy. Keeping it not just a wave, but a wave with the support of the ocean. This same principle can help to reduce the bananas in your inversions as well. You want to feel a deep ocean of support before you express the wave of uniqueness in each pose. Something of depth to refine the beauty.
O friend , understand: the body
is like the ocean
rich with hidden treasures.
Open your innermost chamber and light its lamp
-- Mirabai
May we all dive in and find the possibility for great expansion and powerful expression of our innermost treasure!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Be like a duck
"Try to be like a duck, with its joyful body paddling along in the loving water of the river. Just enjoy that"---Rumi
Our friends in nature are powerful reminders of how to live in the now. Anyone who has an animal companion such as a dog or cat knows how they live moment to moment so fresh and so unique. A dog gets excited to eat every day as if they have never had this food before (even though mine have had the same food for quite some time) Every time the leash gets picked up they get excited, every time I come home they get excited. Nothing gets boring, their world is fresh and alive and in the present. Every time I start to get bored with things in my life I try to connect to this energy and remember that things are only boring if I myself am boring. It's like the rumi poem above--we just have to enjoy the simplicity of our essence--doing exactly what we are doing with a spirit of buoyant contentment.
Peace!
Our friends in nature are powerful reminders of how to live in the now. Anyone who has an animal companion such as a dog or cat knows how they live moment to moment so fresh and so unique. A dog gets excited to eat every day as if they have never had this food before (even though mine have had the same food for quite some time) Every time the leash gets picked up they get excited, every time I come home they get excited. Nothing gets boring, their world is fresh and alive and in the present. Every time I start to get bored with things in my life I try to connect to this energy and remember that things are only boring if I myself am boring. It's like the rumi poem above--we just have to enjoy the simplicity of our essence--doing exactly what we are doing with a spirit of buoyant contentment.
Peace!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Aligning With Nature
The Pathless Path to Immortality, Shri Gurudev Mahendranath wrote:
Man is born with an instinct for naturalness. He has never forgotten the days of his primordial perfection, except insomuch as the memory became buried under the artificial superstructure of civilization and its artificial concepts. Sahaja means natural. It not only implies natural on physical and spiritual levels, but on the mystic level of the miraculous. It means that easy or natural of living without planning, designing, contriving, seeking, wanting, striving or intention. What is to come must come of itself.
It is the seed which falls in the ground, becomes seedling, sapling, and then a vast shady tree of wisdom and teachings. The tree grows according to Sahaja, natural and spontaneous in complete conformity with the Natural Law of the Universe. Nobody tells it what to do or how to grow. It has no swadharma or rules, duties and obligations incurred by birth. It has only svabhava - its own inborn self or essence to guide it. Sahaja is that nature which, when established in oneself, bring the state of absolute freedom and peace.
This past weekend I did a workshop on Sahaja within the yoga practice. The session was an invitation to align with nature. Connecting to that place within ourselves that is free of condition and rules of how things "should" be and movement instead towards the living and creative energy inside of us that can give birth to freedom in the body, heart, and soul.
So many of us have so carefully been handed down rules and regulations for all the many expressions of asana. We have come to know our bodies in such rigid and regulated ways. For many the ways in which we have lined up have been forced or contrived and while it looks good, has never really felt good. We have learned so much about the way things are "supposed" to be that we are fearful to stray at all. In essence we have shifted a practice that is born to create freedom to one that has imposed so many rules that have left many fearful to play, change, grow, evolve, and return to and align with nature.
I want to be clear that I think that there are many really wonderful reasons to line up in certain ways. It surely has it's place--especially when we have been so far removed from our nature that we really are so disconnected that we no longer have any intelligence in the body. Things such as learning some basic biomechanical principles are important. At the same time however, it's important to remember that even biomechanical inspired ideas and practices need to be explored to align to the unique sahaja of each person's body and practice (You cannot have cookie cutter approaches to the body when everyone is navigating vessels that are so unique). As practioners we need to be empowered to align with our nature--what shapes make us come to life. Each pose should be like sticking the prong of a plug into a light socket--we light up from it's power and electricity and feel the powerful life flow through us.
Nothing in nature is linear, nothing in nature stands still. Yet in practice so many of us think of that as the goal. To come to a pose, hold it very very still, and some are even being told to keep it rigid. Not only this but if we stray from this form we are doing it "wrong" or worse "you're going to hurt yourself".
Nature is spherical and nature is vibrating dynamically all the time. Even things that appear to be still such as the stones and mountains are teeming with life and vibrating with space and spaciousness.
Aligning with nature means returning to the spherical. Within our bodies recognizing the patterns of nature and moving in ways with our body that mimic nature. Sometimes in modern day yoga classes it feels like modern day construction. We tear down all the nature first and then construct our house, or new building, and then try to put some new nature in to accomodate our new structure. Meanwhile we just displaced thousands of nature's inhabitants and whatever we put in was not in alignment with nature. Same is true for the body. First we must listen to our Svabhava--from deep listening hear and feel the deep life force within and allow movement to erupt into the dance of yoga. Stillness does have its place, but in service to the recognition of the life intelligence inside from which we breath and move.
Emerson says "Everything in nature contains all the power of nature, everything is made of one hidden stuff" Our practice then is to awaken to the "stuff". We invite the power of the waves, the flight of the bird, the power of the mountain, the speed of the cheetah, the strength of the wind, whatever quality we wish to align with that in that moment can liberate our body and open our heart.
Movement then in the practice is not about forcing, controlling, subjugating our body, but rather on returning to the natural state of sahaja--free of condition and just as spherical as one wave crashing down into the other.
"Rocking, undulating, swaying,
Carried by rhythm,
Cherish the streaming energy
Flooding your body
As a current of the divine.
Oh radiant one,
Ride the waves of ecstatic motion
Into a sublime fusion of passion and peace."
--Radiance Sustra 60 translated by Lorin Roche
May we all be inspired towards a living practice rooted deep in our svabhava!
Peace!
Man is born with an instinct for naturalness. He has never forgotten the days of his primordial perfection, except insomuch as the memory became buried under the artificial superstructure of civilization and its artificial concepts. Sahaja means natural. It not only implies natural on physical and spiritual levels, but on the mystic level of the miraculous. It means that easy or natural of living without planning, designing, contriving, seeking, wanting, striving or intention. What is to come must come of itself.
It is the seed which falls in the ground, becomes seedling, sapling, and then a vast shady tree of wisdom and teachings. The tree grows according to Sahaja, natural and spontaneous in complete conformity with the Natural Law of the Universe. Nobody tells it what to do or how to grow. It has no swadharma or rules, duties and obligations incurred by birth. It has only svabhava - its own inborn self or essence to guide it. Sahaja is that nature which, when established in oneself, bring the state of absolute freedom and peace.
This past weekend I did a workshop on Sahaja within the yoga practice. The session was an invitation to align with nature. Connecting to that place within ourselves that is free of condition and rules of how things "should" be and movement instead towards the living and creative energy inside of us that can give birth to freedom in the body, heart, and soul.
So many of us have so carefully been handed down rules and regulations for all the many expressions of asana. We have come to know our bodies in such rigid and regulated ways. For many the ways in which we have lined up have been forced or contrived and while it looks good, has never really felt good. We have learned so much about the way things are "supposed" to be that we are fearful to stray at all. In essence we have shifted a practice that is born to create freedom to one that has imposed so many rules that have left many fearful to play, change, grow, evolve, and return to and align with nature.
I want to be clear that I think that there are many really wonderful reasons to line up in certain ways. It surely has it's place--especially when we have been so far removed from our nature that we really are so disconnected that we no longer have any intelligence in the body. Things such as learning some basic biomechanical principles are important. At the same time however, it's important to remember that even biomechanical inspired ideas and practices need to be explored to align to the unique sahaja of each person's body and practice (You cannot have cookie cutter approaches to the body when everyone is navigating vessels that are so unique). As practioners we need to be empowered to align with our nature--what shapes make us come to life. Each pose should be like sticking the prong of a plug into a light socket--we light up from it's power and electricity and feel the powerful life flow through us.
Nothing in nature is linear, nothing in nature stands still. Yet in practice so many of us think of that as the goal. To come to a pose, hold it very very still, and some are even being told to keep it rigid. Not only this but if we stray from this form we are doing it "wrong" or worse "you're going to hurt yourself".
Nature is spherical and nature is vibrating dynamically all the time. Even things that appear to be still such as the stones and mountains are teeming with life and vibrating with space and spaciousness.
Aligning with nature means returning to the spherical. Within our bodies recognizing the patterns of nature and moving in ways with our body that mimic nature. Sometimes in modern day yoga classes it feels like modern day construction. We tear down all the nature first and then construct our house, or new building, and then try to put some new nature in to accomodate our new structure. Meanwhile we just displaced thousands of nature's inhabitants and whatever we put in was not in alignment with nature. Same is true for the body. First we must listen to our Svabhava--from deep listening hear and feel the deep life force within and allow movement to erupt into the dance of yoga. Stillness does have its place, but in service to the recognition of the life intelligence inside from which we breath and move.
Emerson says "Everything in nature contains all the power of nature, everything is made of one hidden stuff" Our practice then is to awaken to the "stuff". We invite the power of the waves, the flight of the bird, the power of the mountain, the speed of the cheetah, the strength of the wind, whatever quality we wish to align with that in that moment can liberate our body and open our heart.
Movement then in the practice is not about forcing, controlling, subjugating our body, but rather on returning to the natural state of sahaja--free of condition and just as spherical as one wave crashing down into the other.
"Rocking, undulating, swaying,
Carried by rhythm,
Cherish the streaming energy
Flooding your body
As a current of the divine.
Oh radiant one,
Ride the waves of ecstatic motion
Into a sublime fusion of passion and peace."
--Radiance Sustra 60 translated by Lorin Roche
May we all be inspired towards a living practice rooted deep in our svabhava!
Peace!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Enter the Fire
As I finish up my Midwest workshops a new realization was sparked in one of the fire workshops I was teaching. I often speak of fire as the element that helps to burn through whatever separates you from you. Whatever it is that prevents you from realizing what your deepest gifts are to the world and from giving those gifts freely to the world. Fire when you consciously invoke it and navigate it can help to open you to the truth of who you are and give you strength to birth it into the world.
Entering the fire is also about the commitment to evolve. I wholeheartedly believe that we experience limitation and challenge to remember to expand. As we bump up against fear, limitation, lack, challenge--therein lies freewill. The universe gives us a choice to either give up--or burn. If we choose the fire we remember and connect to that aspect of ourselves that is Flame already and remember that the fire cannot hurt us--but can only transform us. With our whole heart we then enter the fire for the fire is the present moment--capable of evolving us. Free from past and not bound by the future--we become creatures of the present moment with all the fertile potency of fire.
"There is no greater weapon than the human soul on fire"--
I have been so pleased to see so many of you willing to be consumed by the flames. It is an act of profound bravery to allow oneself to step into the fire fully. From outside--the intensity of the fire can sound and look very harsh, painful, and scary. So many stay outside of the fire for the fear of change is to great to bear and even if where they are in life isn't truly where they need to be--they stay outside of the the flame. The truth is though if you enter the fire you get cooked in the best possible way. However, staying outside the fire you still feel the heat--and resisting fire is like resiting arrest-- it ain't going to do you any good and will keep you in your own personal hell/jail for a very long time.
Great change takes great courage. The Latin root of the word courage is "cour", which means heart, and it is with heart that we move into the fire. The head would never allow such change to take place. Only through the heart can we live a life of transformation. The head is rarely open to life in the now--it's constantly seeking to be entertained and to drudge up the past(and play in it's mud) or create fantastic futures. While we need the mind to navigate the world--the heart is the key to a dynamic, full, and powerful life. The heart is open to new information and the heart is the most powerful energetic and biological part of who we are. It is from there then that we must approach the limitations and from there open to life fully.
When we allow ourselves to be set on fire--we do become the most powerful weapon on earth. This weapon is not set on the destruction of our fellow man, nor the earth and her inhabitants. This weapon is set on destroying illusions of separateness. Just as fire within the individual helps to burn through what separates us from us, when the whole world lights up from all of our fires, the collective fire will burn through what separates us from all others. Then we will truly have a fire from which a new world can be formed
Burn on and spread like wildfire!
Entering the fire is also about the commitment to evolve. I wholeheartedly believe that we experience limitation and challenge to remember to expand. As we bump up against fear, limitation, lack, challenge--therein lies freewill. The universe gives us a choice to either give up--or burn. If we choose the fire we remember and connect to that aspect of ourselves that is Flame already and remember that the fire cannot hurt us--but can only transform us. With our whole heart we then enter the fire for the fire is the present moment--capable of evolving us. Free from past and not bound by the future--we become creatures of the present moment with all the fertile potency of fire.
"There is no greater weapon than the human soul on fire"--
I have been so pleased to see so many of you willing to be consumed by the flames. It is an act of profound bravery to allow oneself to step into the fire fully. From outside--the intensity of the fire can sound and look very harsh, painful, and scary. So many stay outside of the fire for the fear of change is to great to bear and even if where they are in life isn't truly where they need to be--they stay outside of the the flame. The truth is though if you enter the fire you get cooked in the best possible way. However, staying outside the fire you still feel the heat--and resisting fire is like resiting arrest-- it ain't going to do you any good and will keep you in your own personal hell/jail for a very long time.
Great change takes great courage. The Latin root of the word courage is "cour", which means heart, and it is with heart that we move into the fire. The head would never allow such change to take place. Only through the heart can we live a life of transformation. The head is rarely open to life in the now--it's constantly seeking to be entertained and to drudge up the past(and play in it's mud) or create fantastic futures. While we need the mind to navigate the world--the heart is the key to a dynamic, full, and powerful life. The heart is open to new information and the heart is the most powerful energetic and biological part of who we are. It is from there then that we must approach the limitations and from there open to life fully.
When we allow ourselves to be set on fire--we do become the most powerful weapon on earth. This weapon is not set on the destruction of our fellow man, nor the earth and her inhabitants. This weapon is set on destroying illusions of separateness. Just as fire within the individual helps to burn through what separates us from us, when the whole world lights up from all of our fires, the collective fire will burn through what separates us from all others. Then we will truly have a fire from which a new world can be formed
Burn on and spread like wildfire!
Friday, May 8, 2009
I don't care!
Well you should. At least you should try. The research done by the Heart Math Institute has shown that care is one of the most powerful core heart feelings (those that help to boost the immune system and keep a healthy balance in the body's autonomic nervous system--see previous post).
It is common for many of us to think that we don't have time to care, or that we care too much already, or that we won't know how to care--but the truth is we can't afford to not care.
Caring is like wildfire--once lit up it spreads--creating a cascade of uplifting and regenerative energy that permeates our world and those we touch. The care we put out comes right back into us--feeding and nourishing every cell of our being.
One of the best ways to express care is through touch. Hugging, holding, caressing all while holding space for a core heart feeling has tremendous benefits for both giver and receiver. Research has shown that when we touch someone the electrical energy of heart is transmitted to the other person's brain and vice verse. We literally shift to match each others energy.
This aspect of touch also applies to our interaction with plants and animals. Studies have been done with animals that report that the mortality rate of cardiac patients with pets was roughly one third of that of those with out them. It has also been found that kids with pets have a higher degree of empathy.
One thing is for certain without care, or the need to care, our lives lack meaning and our systems literally begin to shut down. In a state of care however our body illuminates, radiates, and we reap the wonderful benefits of supreme aliveness.
Besides touch we can send care to others through sending out love and compassion to them. You can sit down, or even while in the moment of doing whatever it is you are doing just focus on your heart and bring that person, pet, or animal into mind and focus on the energy of love, compassion, appreciation--whatever you can connect to and send it to them. Visualize them receiving it and feel the response in your body of giving that love and care. Soak it in to every cell of your being and do this for as long as you like. Whether you know it or not you just boosted your IgA levels (immune system) and brought your heart into coherence which just made you that much healthier in every major system of your body.
This is a great thing to do in those moments where the world feels overwhelming and you just feel hopeless as to how to create change or help someone. The homeless family you pass on the street, the suffering dog chained to the fence, the victims of war torn countries, the friend who lost their job. There are many things which we just cannot do anything about other than just bear witness. You can compare that to the situation that Jesus was once in in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to god to take his burden away and wanting nothing more from his disciples to bear witness to his suffering. They couldn't stop it nor could he--but he still needed their care and support to face the challenge. Same thing could be compared to the last installment of Harry Potter as Harry went to face his demise--Dumbledore knew the importance of care and support in those moments and gave harry a stone that connected him to all the loved ones he had lost to help guide him into his final challenge against Voldermort.
We need to feel cared for just as much as we need to care for others. It extends to causes and issues we care about as well. What we need to pay attention to is that we don't over care. We need to remember the lessons from the Bhagavad Gita and to not attach ourselves to the fruit of our action. We can care without worrying about the results of the care. Give generously without overindulging the ego's need to be recognized or get something back. Remember the act of caring if sincere already benefits your health--what a reward! Plus it just feels good to give.
A nice practice to engage in is Metta Meditation,or Tonglen. These two meditation practices really connect to the heart and help to give out care, love and compassion. Both are also really good if you are in a place where you find yourselve working with a lot of anger towards the world or others. The Heart Math Foundation also has many techniques--check out their website and most important pick the book up "The Heart Math Solution".
Here is a link to practice Metta
And one for Tonglen
and again Heart Math
It is common for many of us to think that we don't have time to care, or that we care too much already, or that we won't know how to care--but the truth is we can't afford to not care.
Caring is like wildfire--once lit up it spreads--creating a cascade of uplifting and regenerative energy that permeates our world and those we touch. The care we put out comes right back into us--feeding and nourishing every cell of our being.
One of the best ways to express care is through touch. Hugging, holding, caressing all while holding space for a core heart feeling has tremendous benefits for both giver and receiver. Research has shown that when we touch someone the electrical energy of heart is transmitted to the other person's brain and vice verse. We literally shift to match each others energy.
This aspect of touch also applies to our interaction with plants and animals. Studies have been done with animals that report that the mortality rate of cardiac patients with pets was roughly one third of that of those with out them. It has also been found that kids with pets have a higher degree of empathy.
One thing is for certain without care, or the need to care, our lives lack meaning and our systems literally begin to shut down. In a state of care however our body illuminates, radiates, and we reap the wonderful benefits of supreme aliveness.
Besides touch we can send care to others through sending out love and compassion to them. You can sit down, or even while in the moment of doing whatever it is you are doing just focus on your heart and bring that person, pet, or animal into mind and focus on the energy of love, compassion, appreciation--whatever you can connect to and send it to them. Visualize them receiving it and feel the response in your body of giving that love and care. Soak it in to every cell of your being and do this for as long as you like. Whether you know it or not you just boosted your IgA levels (immune system) and brought your heart into coherence which just made you that much healthier in every major system of your body.
This is a great thing to do in those moments where the world feels overwhelming and you just feel hopeless as to how to create change or help someone. The homeless family you pass on the street, the suffering dog chained to the fence, the victims of war torn countries, the friend who lost their job. There are many things which we just cannot do anything about other than just bear witness. You can compare that to the situation that Jesus was once in in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to god to take his burden away and wanting nothing more from his disciples to bear witness to his suffering. They couldn't stop it nor could he--but he still needed their care and support to face the challenge. Same thing could be compared to the last installment of Harry Potter as Harry went to face his demise--Dumbledore knew the importance of care and support in those moments and gave harry a stone that connected him to all the loved ones he had lost to help guide him into his final challenge against Voldermort.
We need to feel cared for just as much as we need to care for others. It extends to causes and issues we care about as well. What we need to pay attention to is that we don't over care. We need to remember the lessons from the Bhagavad Gita and to not attach ourselves to the fruit of our action. We can care without worrying about the results of the care. Give generously without overindulging the ego's need to be recognized or get something back. Remember the act of caring if sincere already benefits your health--what a reward! Plus it just feels good to give.
A nice practice to engage in is Metta Meditation,or Tonglen. These two meditation practices really connect to the heart and help to give out care, love and compassion. Both are also really good if you are in a place where you find yourselve working with a lot of anger towards the world or others. The Heart Math Foundation also has many techniques--check out their website and most important pick the book up "The Heart Math Solution".
Here is a link to practice Metta
And one for Tonglen
and again Heart Math
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Love is the answer
"If you give your life as wholehearted response to love, then love will wholeheartedly respond to you"-- Marianne Williamson
It is a pattern that many of us enter into because it is addictive--the high of negativity. All it takes is one negative thought and then BAM it spirals into the next creating a wave of fear and a drought that sucks all the happiness dry from around us. The Course in Miracles says we achieve so little because we have such undisciplined minds. What that is referring to is that the cascade of negativity that runs rampant through us isn't the problem--that we cannot control, what is the problem is our reaction to it (or for that matter our lack of reaction to it).
It is our tendency to lead with our wounds (leaving the mind unchecked) that has been referred to as woundology. In every moment our mind is racing to discover what is wrong with this situation, this person, this moment. It doesn't relent until it has found not just one but many and even then it needs it's high to stay up and can find even more. Left unchecked this spiral towards the dark leaves us in a pit of disenchantment with the world--far removed from love, and far removed from our powerful creative spirit and vision of our heart.
The good news is that we don't have to stay within the spiral towards the dark, for our nature is light. The dark is a part of us too, but it's the part of us we need to remember that we have freewill. It's the limitation we need to remember how much we can expand. We can remain in the dark, or we can remember that we are love. Love when given a chance to create--shapes our lives in such a way that opens us up to more beauty in the world. It's remembering that the heart much more than metaphor is our connection to the light.
"There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the highest heavens--this is the light shines in our heart"---Upanshads
If we so choose we can shift our consciousness from the wounds of the mind to the light of the heart. From the heart we can then return back to the mind and from the light darkness cannot remain.
Rumi says "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built up against it"
When we live in the dark--every thought of darkness literally takes the life out of us. The research being conducted by the Heart Math Institute has shown that every negative thought we think throws the nervous system out of balance producing heart rhythms that appear jagged and disordered. Not only does it make the heart rhythm incoherent but elevates the level of cortisol in the body. High levels of cortisol have been shown to impair immune function, reduce glucose utilization, increase bone loss, reduce muscle mass, inhibit skin growth and repair, increase fat accumulation, and destroy brain cells.
This isn't good news for those who choose to live in the absence of love. What's more is that it's a powerful reminder that we are the ones who are responsible not only for what put out into the world, but also how we react to what the world puts into us!
With both the words of Rumi and Marianne we are reminded that we first need not to seek for love but look at the barriers we have built up against it--moment by moment how and why are we choosing not to love and receive love? Then from that place remembering that if we feel as though we are not being loved, not receiving love--are we really giving and putting love out to all those who cross our path--and even to ourselves?
A quote often recited by Marianne is "Love is what we are born with, fear is what we have learned here". Love is a radical shift that only the strong of mind and brave of heart choose to make. When the whole world is stuck in victim mode and the ideology that is common is woundology then it takes tremendous vision to choose love.
We have to be as committed to love as others are to hate and destruction! The Heart Math Institute's research into the heart has shown that the heart’s electromagnetic field is 5000 times greater than the brain. The field not only permeates every cell in the body but also radiates outside of us. It can be measured up to 8-10 feet away from us. When we are in a state of connection to the heart such as in a feeling of care, appreciation, or love--we can literally pull all the body's systems into state of coherence creating a cascade of well being though the body that revitalizes all major systems--boosting our immune system and heart health. Not only this but since it is a field that extends outside of the body we literally affect everyone else around us as well--affecting their brain and heart waves.
Every thought we think gives us a choose--do we respond with love or fear. Cumulative fear based living literally kills us (as shown by the heart math research)--and it affects everything around us destructively. Do we respond with love which is harder and takes more discipline? Are we willing to be committed to love? Are we willing to be as passionate about love so that in every moment we ground ourselves in the energy of the heart--bring to our focus a feeling of love, care, or appreciation?
"We have not come into this exquisite world to hold ourselves hostage from love. Run my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings, Run like hell, my dear, from anyone likely to put a sharp knife into the sacred, tender vision of your beautiful heart"--Hafiz
What is your vision--love or fear? If love are you willing to give your life as whole hearted response? If so your mantra is "I am love and my only response to this situation is love". Try it today. Start your day off in the heart. Close your eyes and take both hands on top of your heart. Take several deep breaths and connect to your heart beat feeling it all through the body. From here invoke a heart quality such as appreciation/gratitude, love, or care. Breath it deep into your body. Feel it all over and remember this feeling. Notice how the body responds, notice how the mind responds. Stay here, dwell in the heart, keep inviting more heart qualities in. Do this often and stay in the vision and leadership of your heart. I am love and my only response is love.
Peace and Love to you all!
For more info on the amazing research of the Heart Math Institute click here www.heartmath.org
Also stay tuned for my new book "Heart Fire Yoga: Practices to Awaken, Inspire, and Transform Your Heart" I am diligently working on it and hope for it to be completed by the fall.
Here we go
It's been a while since I have connected on this pathway with all of you. I have missed coming to this place to share with you and look forward to reengaging this avenue over the summer. I have had quite an adventurous few months and have just come to accept that maybe my life is just meant to be adventurous for now. I don't think that is in my path for the time being to settle down in one place, but rather to open to the guidance of the universe as it takes me into connections with people, places, and groups all over the country.
I have had some amazing times traveling out west, down south, and now back through the Midwest. I have enjoyed meeting new people and new yoga communities. What inspires me is that while the places are different the intention of the practice to help transform our lives from merely existing--to thriving into creative, innovative, and inspiring beings is the same.
My home base for the time being is going to be Houston TX. From here I plan to launch a series of new projects including a book, some "you tube" videos to help guide you into some radical expansions in your practice, as well as some innovative meditation trainings and new yoga workshops.
I look forward to this period of intense creativity and hope that I can share the work with you in the upcoming months. Stay tuned to my website for all the details and in the meantime I hope to see you at my up coming workshops in the Midwest (Chicago and Ann Arbor coming up next). If you are in Texas--look for me at Yoga Rasa www.yogarasa.net in Houston.
If you would like for me to visit your yoga community let me know :)
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