Life Fully Lived
by Laura Harrison
What have I to lose
by believing in you?
Nothing can ever exist
if we always resist
but by taking a risk
we have everything to gain
life will always be the same
and we will suffer and slowly die
secret desires and beauties lie
dormant
locked in the basement
and our love becomes heavy with resentment
if we never really live.
I will give
you this chance to win my heart
and this very well could be the start
or just another paragraph in the story
but we will never find the glory
if we always just stay home
we need to roam
out of our comfort zone
with hearts and minds closed
nothing real
nothing as its supposed or possible to be
no energy
but with hearts and minds open
life will often betray our hoping
but by delivering things more exquisite and surreal
more blissful then we thought we'd feel
you'll never regret a life fully lived.
Showing posts with label enlightenment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enlightenment. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Finding Your Gifts and Letting Them Blossom Fully in Your Life
I have been around the block yogically speaking... I mean, I have tried many different modes of practice and integrating practice into my lifestyle, into my worldview, into my heart...
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us... There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you..." ~ Marianne Williamson
I started with a very ascetic mode of practice and viewing life, and while parts of it fit, and the universal mindset of yoga always fit, it just denied all creativity, all passion, the drive of the heart, which to me, always leads to Truth. Unconditional Love and Truth are my path, no matter how hard I tried to suppress my light, my style, my passions, they always would shine through. Not only will they shine through, but they are attractive and inspiring to others. Others say I brighten their day or make a difference in their lives!! What an enormous honor and humbling opportunity to grow.. so why would I suppress that? Why do most people suppress their passion, their individuality, their creativity?...
For the sake of fitting into a mold called "normal", I suspect. Conformity comes at a very high price. It is basically akin abandoning your soul. Abandon everything that makes you YOU and live just like industry will have you- eating engineered garbage and thus getting sick and depressed, eating out of big pharma's expensive hand, and consuming egregious amounts of disposable plastic objects made in sweat-shops in China to fill the deep spiritual and emotional void developing inside. Is it worth being sick or slowly dying inside the rest of your days to think you feel like you fit in, just so that you can complain to the next guy about the weather and how much life sucks? Is this not the truth if you look at it with unclouded eyes and an open mind?
When we become more ourselves and give us to that path of individuality, we will lose our connection to some people, sometimes even family members. But the only connections that will fall away are the ones that are not real soul connections. They may be rekindled later, or they may not. I have hurt when dear friends have shunned me during dark times because my positivity has flown in the face of their depression. Many people have rejected me in many ways because I am "too damn happy" for them. It stopped hurting me, because I started to see what I saw as a teenage girl... I never cared too much for conforming, and always followed my heart, it was my greatest wisdom and gift that I think I was gracefully born with... people warned me not to be so open to other people so that I don't have my heart broken, and I, in my teenage ferocity, said, "I'm right following my heart, why should I change because they are assholes?" Why should we sell ourselves short because others are not open to us? No reason! Why should we not shine because others are afraid to shine? No reason, in fact, we may inspire others, give them the courage to open up and really live, really love, just because we are uncompromised in our uniqueness.
While why is covered, how is the topic I wanted to discuss, how to figure out what it is we are, truly ARE... what positive qualities automatically surface over and over again? What do we feel naturally passionate about, drawn to, in the world, in others, what do we love to learn about or feel we cannot get enough of? That is our starting point.
From there, allow yourself to dream, allow yourself to speak with all different sorts of people in all different sorts of places. Let your passions and ideas grow. Don't be afraid for some ideas to flesh out and most ideas to lead only to other ideas, this is how it all works. Open up. Be brave. Be fearless- fear is the opposite of being fully alive.
For me, I used to try to shut up and not talk so much. Sometimes that isn't a bad idea... like when watching a movie, or listening to someone, or really hearing a song, or really being in the moment with nature, or sharing close contact with a loved one.. then I will shut up, blissfully and naturally... but if it weren't for my ability to paint with my words, I wouldn't be me, I wouldn't benefit from the knowledge and inspiration I has been granted by so many amazing beings. My business survives and now grows and thrives by the connections made by being me and speaking to others. I have found loves, found friends, found knowledge and found my Self through connecting with other beings, especially other human beings. Other parts of mySelf have been unlocked by knowing other people, again, because I was myself and spoke from my heart with no self-consciousness or restriction. Relationships, especially the major romantic relationships in my life, have each unlocked a space within myself I never knew about.. for one the major factor was travel... for another it was music... love of beauty, intelligence, art, nature, and playfulness are part of the very fabric of me.
I have been blessed with a mind that puts things together like no other. I look at the world in a very unique way. Some would say its a very Aquarian thing. Sometimes my creative perspective leads to momentary confusion on my part, or misunderstanding with others, but mostly it leads me to live in a very free, unconstrained way. I fulfill my societal obligations with the least hassle possible, and live as my free-spirited Self, carving my own path through this lifetime. This is why I am the kind of person that works for herself. I have been blessed with the ability to put all of my natural qualities together and carve it out into a beautiful career serving the world and growing as a person all the way.
We all may not be meant to work for ourselves- it has ups and downs!! Yet, we all have this ability to put together our passions into a satisfying, gratifying, inspiring and extraordinary way of life. Our career ideally will challenge us and honor our needs so that we can stay nourished, refreshed and whole, but it isn't "who we are". Our hobbies, our choices outside of the office, what causes we are active with, what we choose to do with our time on this earth describes us. Let the way you spend your time be worthy of you as a person. Pour your love into your lifestyle.
We all have to eat, clean the house, make a living financially, and interact with the world. HOW we choose to fulfill these roles is unique to us, and shouldn't by any means be compared to any societal standards of expectancy or normalcy. It may take time, but live as your Self, and you will attract like-minded beings, you will form your own tribe. Maybe what satisfies you is very simple, maybe very wild and adventurous. As long as you are not kidding yourself, not saying, "I would do this, this or that if I could, but..." BUT NOTHING!! This is your life, happening one moment at a time! Don't resign to shrink into the corner and let others live. LIVE FULLY! Live Vividly!! Follow your passions! Think of good reasons not to.. I bet you will find more compelling evidence to live then slowly dry up and blow away!
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us... There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you..." ~ Marianne Williamson
I started with a very ascetic mode of practice and viewing life, and while parts of it fit, and the universal mindset of yoga always fit, it just denied all creativity, all passion, the drive of the heart, which to me, always leads to Truth. Unconditional Love and Truth are my path, no matter how hard I tried to suppress my light, my style, my passions, they always would shine through. Not only will they shine through, but they are attractive and inspiring to others. Others say I brighten their day or make a difference in their lives!! What an enormous honor and humbling opportunity to grow.. so why would I suppress that? Why do most people suppress their passion, their individuality, their creativity?...
For the sake of fitting into a mold called "normal", I suspect. Conformity comes at a very high price. It is basically akin abandoning your soul. Abandon everything that makes you YOU and live just like industry will have you- eating engineered garbage and thus getting sick and depressed, eating out of big pharma's expensive hand, and consuming egregious amounts of disposable plastic objects made in sweat-shops in China to fill the deep spiritual and emotional void developing inside. Is it worth being sick or slowly dying inside the rest of your days to think you feel like you fit in, just so that you can complain to the next guy about the weather and how much life sucks? Is this not the truth if you look at it with unclouded eyes and an open mind?
When we become more ourselves and give us to that path of individuality, we will lose our connection to some people, sometimes even family members. But the only connections that will fall away are the ones that are not real soul connections. They may be rekindled later, or they may not. I have hurt when dear friends have shunned me during dark times because my positivity has flown in the face of their depression. Many people have rejected me in many ways because I am "too damn happy" for them. It stopped hurting me, because I started to see what I saw as a teenage girl... I never cared too much for conforming, and always followed my heart, it was my greatest wisdom and gift that I think I was gracefully born with... people warned me not to be so open to other people so that I don't have my heart broken, and I, in my teenage ferocity, said, "I'm right following my heart, why should I change because they are assholes?" Why should we sell ourselves short because others are not open to us? No reason! Why should we not shine because others are afraid to shine? No reason, in fact, we may inspire others, give them the courage to open up and really live, really love, just because we are uncompromised in our uniqueness.
While why is covered, how is the topic I wanted to discuss, how to figure out what it is we are, truly ARE... what positive qualities automatically surface over and over again? What do we feel naturally passionate about, drawn to, in the world, in others, what do we love to learn about or feel we cannot get enough of? That is our starting point.
From there, allow yourself to dream, allow yourself to speak with all different sorts of people in all different sorts of places. Let your passions and ideas grow. Don't be afraid for some ideas to flesh out and most ideas to lead only to other ideas, this is how it all works. Open up. Be brave. Be fearless- fear is the opposite of being fully alive.
For me, I used to try to shut up and not talk so much. Sometimes that isn't a bad idea... like when watching a movie, or listening to someone, or really hearing a song, or really being in the moment with nature, or sharing close contact with a loved one.. then I will shut up, blissfully and naturally... but if it weren't for my ability to paint with my words, I wouldn't be me, I wouldn't benefit from the knowledge and inspiration I has been granted by so many amazing beings. My business survives and now grows and thrives by the connections made by being me and speaking to others. I have found loves, found friends, found knowledge and found my Self through connecting with other beings, especially other human beings. Other parts of mySelf have been unlocked by knowing other people, again, because I was myself and spoke from my heart with no self-consciousness or restriction. Relationships, especially the major romantic relationships in my life, have each unlocked a space within myself I never knew about.. for one the major factor was travel... for another it was music... love of beauty, intelligence, art, nature, and playfulness are part of the very fabric of me.
I have been blessed with a mind that puts things together like no other. I look at the world in a very unique way. Some would say its a very Aquarian thing. Sometimes my creative perspective leads to momentary confusion on my part, or misunderstanding with others, but mostly it leads me to live in a very free, unconstrained way. I fulfill my societal obligations with the least hassle possible, and live as my free-spirited Self, carving my own path through this lifetime. This is why I am the kind of person that works for herself. I have been blessed with the ability to put all of my natural qualities together and carve it out into a beautiful career serving the world and growing as a person all the way.
We all may not be meant to work for ourselves- it has ups and downs!! Yet, we all have this ability to put together our passions into a satisfying, gratifying, inspiring and extraordinary way of life. Our career ideally will challenge us and honor our needs so that we can stay nourished, refreshed and whole, but it isn't "who we are". Our hobbies, our choices outside of the office, what causes we are active with, what we choose to do with our time on this earth describes us. Let the way you spend your time be worthy of you as a person. Pour your love into your lifestyle.
We all have to eat, clean the house, make a living financially, and interact with the world. HOW we choose to fulfill these roles is unique to us, and shouldn't by any means be compared to any societal standards of expectancy or normalcy. It may take time, but live as your Self, and you will attract like-minded beings, you will form your own tribe. Maybe what satisfies you is very simple, maybe very wild and adventurous. As long as you are not kidding yourself, not saying, "I would do this, this or that if I could, but..." BUT NOTHING!! This is your life, happening one moment at a time! Don't resign to shrink into the corner and let others live. LIVE FULLY! Live Vividly!! Follow your passions! Think of good reasons not to.. I bet you will find more compelling evidence to live then slowly dry up and blow away!
Friday, July 1, 2011
So simple, so difficult
We come to a place on the path where we are pretty pure- our body, lifestyle, motivations... And then the bigger challenge isn't to hold on to increasing information, but to let go. To let go of everything, and become purely motivated from the stirring of our heart-center in a completely personal-impersonal way.
Letting go of past, future, expectations, sense of self, sense of others and just re-becoming pure awareness.
This is a simple yet completely, incredibly difficult challenge...
Letting go of past, future, expectations, sense of self, sense of others and just re-becoming pure awareness.
This is a simple yet completely, incredibly difficult challenge...
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Fierce Like Kali, Gentle Like a Loving Mother with Her Newborn
To reach the goal, to climb the Mt. Everest of consciouness to enlightenment, we need to be simaltaneously fierce and relentless, tempered with gentle-loving patience.
We have to accept fully what is in each moment, but always strive.
We have to be a ferrocious warrior-destroyer like Kali Ma. We have to be tender and calmly present with unconditional loving-acceptance like a mother with her only baby. We have to be consistant but know how to take care of the body and mind so that they may be pushed to the edge, but do not break.
Be like Mother Nature- raw, unconditional acceptance, always strong with such power. If you want enlightenment, you're going to have to work for it. If you want to make it, you can fight reality and you can fight yourself. Your body-mind are the vehicles through which you make the journey to pure consciousness, so treat them well, discipline them, make them strong. They'll get you there if you find the balance.
We have to accept fully what is in each moment, but always strive.
We have to be a ferrocious warrior-destroyer like Kali Ma. We have to be tender and calmly present with unconditional loving-acceptance like a mother with her only baby. We have to be consistant but know how to take care of the body and mind so that they may be pushed to the edge, but do not break.
Be like Mother Nature- raw, unconditional acceptance, always strong with such power. If you want enlightenment, you're going to have to work for it. If you want to make it, you can fight reality and you can fight yourself. Your body-mind are the vehicles through which you make the journey to pure consciousness, so treat them well, discipline them, make them strong. They'll get you there if you find the balance.
Friday, June 10, 2011
My Guru
I am definately a bhakti-yogini. I am a lover in the Rumi sense of the word. Bhakti yoga at its core is finding wholeness, union, Yoga, by dissolving the ego (false-self) in the ocean of love that is the Cosmic Self, (the Universe, God, the Infinite, the Nature of Being- many names for one Source). This realization of the oneness of being is also called Self-realization, or enlightenment.
Glimpses of my bhakti-yogini nature foreshadowing this realization came in many forms. Of course, I believe, every child is a yogi-scientist-artist-explorer, nature and animal lover at heart. I used to extend my sphere of compassion to the many animals I tried to form a close bond with, innocently catching 'pets' that I wanted to so badly to love + care for- ants, grasshoppers, frogs, dragonflies, "leroys + beebles", (aquatic larvae and diver beetles), crayfish, and more, plus my domestic cats, gerbils, mice and hamsters. When I was young I even extended my sphere of concern to my stuffed animals, feeling worried that they would be saddened if I didn't pay equal attention to them. These things adults think are children's folly are the world of lovers, we know that sat-chid-ananda is the fabric of the universe, toys + 'real' beings alike.
I remember feeling the inauthenticity of having to decide "what to be" when I grew up, and I asked why being a good person wasn't enough to be.
I played outside as long as I was allowed. Nature was my playground. When I was inside, I most enjoyed learning about nature, the earth and the world cultures. Science and global studies were my favorites, along with art. To create was my passion.
Now, with an ever clarifying awareness, I see all these glimpses as obvious indications of my path. A yogini all along, a lover of Life Itself, but who is my guru?
In Ram Dass' description, the guru is the fully-realized or enlightened person that loves you unconditionally, whose prescence gives the instant experience of the love-bath that is sat-chid-ananda. The guru is one with Life fully, and gives the student unconditional love and exctly the right cues at the right time to facilitate awakening and the spiritual path. The guru helps burn the ego or small self to reveal the Self within. The guru is the reflection of the Self, in the mirror of one particular body.
I have no guru in this sense. Perhaps on pilgrimage to India in the future I will meet such a being. Maybe I will meet such a being here in America, but right now, I don't think so. My guru is the Guru reflected in all beings and especially in the natural world. My guru is the Guru. Life 'talks' to me when I ask it to clearly, honestly and with pure intention. If I ask for a certain sign in that way, I can't remember a time when it has not been given.
I have had and still have many influences and teachers. I began my yoga journey at the Sivananda Ashram in the Bahamas. I have done a great deal of self-study and Self study (actual practice). On the path they say that an ounce of practice is worth a pound of theory. K. Patabhi Jois said yoga is 1% theory and 99% practice. I have practiced with Shiva Rea. I resonated so well with Shiva's teachings that I consider her my primary teacher. I have been inspired by Jivamukti Yoga and will practice with its founders this August as well.
Thus far, Shiva Rea is the closest to a guru in human form that I have found. She inspires me and sparks an expansion of my awareness. She is "me in the future" in that when I touch base with her (through a dvd, a workshop, a blurb on her website) I often hear her articulate so clearly and with such knowing from experience something that I am just coming close to consciously experiencing. What is just busting out of the seed in me is fully blossomed and has given fruit and shared many seeds in Shiva. She is genuine and definately connected to what is the Source of life. I feel a great love in me for Shiva and her work. Much of what she does is so beautiful and resonates so well with me that it could be my own. I do adore her very much. However, Shiva Rea is world-renowned and is very busy. She hasn't the time to spend personally with all of her students. A guru doesn't need to spend a lot of time with the student, but I imagine a more personal connection both ways- for guru to know student too.
Will I ever find a guru in human form? I do long for a guru, at times quite passionately. Will Sharon Gannon or David Life be the guru of my dreams? Is Shiva my guru, will I get to understand that as the truth?
Will I meet a guru here in America or in the future in India? I cannot know now. But I do know that the more I practice, everyday I experience a small micrometer of expansion in my consciousness. And I feel that expansion, that warm immersion in the love-bath of being-bliss-wisdom when I am actually present in nature. Maybe I long for the guru to come in human form because that is the only way I have ever experienced loving-closeness, and because of the lack of really deep closeness I have had with much of my family. When I ask the Universe with genuine love and presence, It answers, and I do feel loved. The more aware I am, the more love I feel. And the more unconditional love I can allow to shine through me onto others, the more loved I feel.
So as far as I know, my guru is Nature. The Universe, Life Itself. That's what most people refer to as God. I kind of like the name Guru myself.
When I grow up, I aspire to be a guru. I want to be so illumined that the unconditional love that is the undercurrent of life itself flows through me into the world. I want to BECOME the love of the Guru. I want to shine that light on all beings, on all objects, to make the sacred universe aware of itself. I want to live my life as my message, as Mahatma Gandhi said and did. I want to live my life in perfect peace and perfect non-harm, living as a giving to the peace, happiness and freedom from suffering of all beings. I want to dissolve my small-self-ego in the ocean of unconditional-love-bliss-wisdom and just be That. May I become worthy of the title guru when the time is right and may I be that which the enables the Universe to unfold at Its own will (may I uphold the dharma, meaning that natural, balanced flow of all things 'as they are meant to be'). May my life enhance the peace-joy-love-freedom-nourishment of all beings, including the earth and entire Universe Itself. That is my greatest wish and desire.
When I am unified in love-consciouness, and you are unified in love-consciousness, we are one. In essence, we are all One, all is One. This is the meaning of Namaste.
What type of Yoga-path do you practice? Do you have a guru story? What teachers inspire you? Om, shanti, namaste!
Glimpses of my bhakti-yogini nature foreshadowing this realization came in many forms. Of course, I believe, every child is a yogi-scientist-artist-explorer, nature and animal lover at heart. I used to extend my sphere of compassion to the many animals I tried to form a close bond with, innocently catching 'pets' that I wanted to so badly to love + care for- ants, grasshoppers, frogs, dragonflies, "leroys + beebles", (aquatic larvae and diver beetles), crayfish, and more, plus my domestic cats, gerbils, mice and hamsters. When I was young I even extended my sphere of concern to my stuffed animals, feeling worried that they would be saddened if I didn't pay equal attention to them. These things adults think are children's folly are the world of lovers, we know that sat-chid-ananda is the fabric of the universe, toys + 'real' beings alike.
I remember feeling the inauthenticity of having to decide "what to be" when I grew up, and I asked why being a good person wasn't enough to be.
I played outside as long as I was allowed. Nature was my playground. When I was inside, I most enjoyed learning about nature, the earth and the world cultures. Science and global studies were my favorites, along with art. To create was my passion.
Now, with an ever clarifying awareness, I see all these glimpses as obvious indications of my path. A yogini all along, a lover of Life Itself, but who is my guru?
In Ram Dass' description, the guru is the fully-realized or enlightened person that loves you unconditionally, whose prescence gives the instant experience of the love-bath that is sat-chid-ananda. The guru is one with Life fully, and gives the student unconditional love and exctly the right cues at the right time to facilitate awakening and the spiritual path. The guru helps burn the ego or small self to reveal the Self within. The guru is the reflection of the Self, in the mirror of one particular body.
I have no guru in this sense. Perhaps on pilgrimage to India in the future I will meet such a being. Maybe I will meet such a being here in America, but right now, I don't think so. My guru is the Guru reflected in all beings and especially in the natural world. My guru is the Guru. Life 'talks' to me when I ask it to clearly, honestly and with pure intention. If I ask for a certain sign in that way, I can't remember a time when it has not been given.
I have had and still have many influences and teachers. I began my yoga journey at the Sivananda Ashram in the Bahamas. I have done a great deal of self-study and Self study (actual practice). On the path they say that an ounce of practice is worth a pound of theory. K. Patabhi Jois said yoga is 1% theory and 99% practice. I have practiced with Shiva Rea. I resonated so well with Shiva's teachings that I consider her my primary teacher. I have been inspired by Jivamukti Yoga and will practice with its founders this August as well.
Thus far, Shiva Rea is the closest to a guru in human form that I have found. She inspires me and sparks an expansion of my awareness. She is "me in the future" in that when I touch base with her (through a dvd, a workshop, a blurb on her website) I often hear her articulate so clearly and with such knowing from experience something that I am just coming close to consciously experiencing. What is just busting out of the seed in me is fully blossomed and has given fruit and shared many seeds in Shiva. She is genuine and definately connected to what is the Source of life. I feel a great love in me for Shiva and her work. Much of what she does is so beautiful and resonates so well with me that it could be my own. I do adore her very much. However, Shiva Rea is world-renowned and is very busy. She hasn't the time to spend personally with all of her students. A guru doesn't need to spend a lot of time with the student, but I imagine a more personal connection both ways- for guru to know student too.
Will I ever find a guru in human form? I do long for a guru, at times quite passionately. Will Sharon Gannon or David Life be the guru of my dreams? Is Shiva my guru, will I get to understand that as the truth?
Will I meet a guru here in America or in the future in India? I cannot know now. But I do know that the more I practice, everyday I experience a small micrometer of expansion in my consciousness. And I feel that expansion, that warm immersion in the love-bath of being-bliss-wisdom when I am actually present in nature. Maybe I long for the guru to come in human form because that is the only way I have ever experienced loving-closeness, and because of the lack of really deep closeness I have had with much of my family. When I ask the Universe with genuine love and presence, It answers, and I do feel loved. The more aware I am, the more love I feel. And the more unconditional love I can allow to shine through me onto others, the more loved I feel.
So as far as I know, my guru is Nature. The Universe, Life Itself. That's what most people refer to as God. I kind of like the name Guru myself.
When I grow up, I aspire to be a guru. I want to be so illumined that the unconditional love that is the undercurrent of life itself flows through me into the world. I want to BECOME the love of the Guru. I want to shine that light on all beings, on all objects, to make the sacred universe aware of itself. I want to live my life as my message, as Mahatma Gandhi said and did. I want to live my life in perfect peace and perfect non-harm, living as a giving to the peace, happiness and freedom from suffering of all beings. I want to dissolve my small-self-ego in the ocean of unconditional-love-bliss-wisdom and just be That. May I become worthy of the title guru when the time is right and may I be that which the enables the Universe to unfold at Its own will (may I uphold the dharma, meaning that natural, balanced flow of all things 'as they are meant to be'). May my life enhance the peace-joy-love-freedom-nourishment of all beings, including the earth and entire Universe Itself. That is my greatest wish and desire.
When I am unified in love-consciouness, and you are unified in love-consciousness, we are one. In essence, we are all One, all is One. This is the meaning of Namaste.
What type of Yoga-path do you practice? Do you have a guru story? What teachers inspire you? Om, shanti, namaste!
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