May 2012: Don't Hide Your Light Under a Bushel...
"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
Enlightenment is about becoming more conscious, about being our unique Selves
completely, not about hiding, or conforming, even to a yoga community's standard
or expectation. We are alive to be individuals, to lose all the layers of
non-self: all of the conditioned-beliefs that we unconsciously absorbed and
never questioned, all of the fears and mirages of inadequacy we acquired along
the way. As we peel back these layers we find the light of our heart revealed,
our individual charm, skills, passions and personality, and as we live fully and
vibrantly, we give ourSelves like a gift to this world.
How do we peel back the layers? Mindfulness.. being present. How do we
acquire that skill? Practice.. in daily life, especially perhaps, through our
yoga and meditation practices.
Reality is laden with oxymorons, and the big one here is that mindfulness
develops our objective observation skills.. the more objectively we observe
ourselves and our world, the more we know ourSelves subjectively. The more we
know ourSelves subjectively, the more we can understand others and universal
principles.
I use capitalization carefully... the capital S on Self means our deepest or
highest Self.. the Self connected to the whole, the Self without all of the
non-self baggage and obstacles attached longer. The self is the whole package
before we begin develop mindfulness and along the way, where the ego (non-self)
still gets the better of us. But although we are all basically in this boat, as
soon as we begin practicing mindfulness, the Self outshines the self
increasingly so. We spend more and more time feeling whole and confident as
opposed to chaotic and blocked.
You are doing no-one a favor by supressing your creative force and
individuality. Just note that this doesn't mean that we should have or do
whatever we want at the expense of others.. that means harming animals, the
earth or other humans with our choices. However, dressing how we wish, living
passionately, following our hopes and dreams, enjoying the company of
like-minded people, achieving spiritual and material success through being
ourSelves completely may piss off people who are jealous or insecure, but it
will not harm them. People will get jealous or feel threatened by your
brightness at times, all successful people experience this. But those who may
feel that way and are ready to take responsibility for their own happiness will
be INSPIRED and live more passionately because you helped them see their own
potential.
Happiness is a responsibility! You have to cultivate it! Living your life
isn't passive, it is active!! LIVE VIVIDLY! If you die with regrets or only ever
having lived halfway you can blame no one but yourself!! You aren't dead until
you are dead, so don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself.. embrace your
reality fully here and now in each moment and rise to all of the magnificent
opportunities you will begin to notice! Namaste!!
<3~ laura
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2012
1 + 1 = 2 ... We aren't halves, but we can be complimentary colors
Many people think that they need another person to complete them. I think this is a well-intentioned, but slightly unhealthy way of viewing the kind of connection most, if not all, of us long for.
As long as we look outside ourselves, towards our material circumstances or other people, for our satisfaction, we won't have lasting peace. The Buddha discovered that human beings automatically become dissatisfied regardless of their external circumstances. He realized that our happiness has to come from remaining present and dynamic. As soon as we look to something to remain exactly the same, we are certain to become disappointed because no one and nothing remains constant. It is as simple as that.
I do think the urge to find a partner is very strong and leads to beautiful experiences, but it will never be fruitful if we are looking to become completed by the other being. I do believe in rare and amazing connections between people and that these are very sacred and special, but we cannot look toward the future and demand that they shine unchanging forever. Instead we have to honor that these connections may grow together and apart as we both move on. Connections disconnect and new ones appear. Some connections are re-connected down the road as paths converge again, only to diverge when they diverge. That is what is so special about a genuine connection that lasts for many decades, to truly have that soul connection last that long requires the ability to remain honest and present as individuals, and a lot of grace and luck as well.
So if we aren't two halves that fix each other, can we be two wholes that blossom incredibly in each others' presence? Like complementary colors, side by side, each being completely ourselves, uncompromised, we can be our happiest, healthiest, and brightest with each other.
As soon as that ceases to be so, as soon as we begin to compromise our path, our individuality, in an unhealthy way, we get mixed up. When you mix complementary colors they become muddy and bland and disappear from their true brilliance. Sadly, out of obligatory courtesy or desire to conform or fear of the unknown, too many people settle to be muddy and unsatisfied, married or not. Marriage has little to do with happiness, by the way, happiness in a relationship comes from the honesty both show themselves and each other, when both people can be honestly themselves and honest with themselves and each other, and are joyous to be together, then nothing else is needed- no approval from others, no jewelry or certificate or tax break or labels.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
As long as we look outside ourselves, towards our material circumstances or other people, for our satisfaction, we won't have lasting peace. The Buddha discovered that human beings automatically become dissatisfied regardless of their external circumstances. He realized that our happiness has to come from remaining present and dynamic. As soon as we look to something to remain exactly the same, we are certain to become disappointed because no one and nothing remains constant. It is as simple as that.
I do think the urge to find a partner is very strong and leads to beautiful experiences, but it will never be fruitful if we are looking to become completed by the other being. I do believe in rare and amazing connections between people and that these are very sacred and special, but we cannot look toward the future and demand that they shine unchanging forever. Instead we have to honor that these connections may grow together and apart as we both move on. Connections disconnect and new ones appear. Some connections are re-connected down the road as paths converge again, only to diverge when they diverge. That is what is so special about a genuine connection that lasts for many decades, to truly have that soul connection last that long requires the ability to remain honest and present as individuals, and a lot of grace and luck as well.
So if we aren't two halves that fix each other, can we be two wholes that blossom incredibly in each others' presence? Like complementary colors, side by side, each being completely ourselves, uncompromised, we can be our happiest, healthiest, and brightest with each other.
As soon as that ceases to be so, as soon as we begin to compromise our path, our individuality, in an unhealthy way, we get mixed up. When you mix complementary colors they become muddy and bland and disappear from their true brilliance. Sadly, out of obligatory courtesy or desire to conform or fear of the unknown, too many people settle to be muddy and unsatisfied, married or not. Marriage has little to do with happiness, by the way, happiness in a relationship comes from the honesty both show themselves and each other, when both people can be honestly themselves and honest with themselves and each other, and are joyous to be together, then nothing else is needed- no approval from others, no jewelry or certificate or tax break or labels.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
Friday, April 27, 2012
Playlist Therapy~ the powerful yoga of music and movement
Almost everyone I know is very connected to music. We choose an artist or playlist that accentuates our mood, or picks our mood up when we are low, or calms us when we are stressed. This is a form of yoga therapy.
Music powerfully moves energy through the body. The right song at the right moment can trigger a huge release of energy- I know I have had shivers singing the right song at the right moment. I have had really high peak experiences, huge energetic releases complete with flowing tears, laughter, and feeling like inside of me a storm had ended, dark clouds rolled away, and the sun came through to reveal the most perfect sunny, blue skies.
The wrong song at the wrong moment can also depress us, or focusing on music that evokes a particular downward spiral of energy can suppress, depress, and repress our energy. We can easily get almost addicted to the bitterness of sadness and keep rolling with it. It is healthy to use music to touch on pockets of sad or difficult emotions, to cry, sing, move them through, but we must be cautious not to ruminate or become stuck there. The name of the game is movement, kids. Everything in the universe is always in a state of fluidity, if we get stuck, we are not in harmony. Harmony is dynamic, harmony is dancing with the spontaneous rhythm of the universe as it unfolds.
With that thought in mind, dancing, not choreographed dancing, but spontaneous movement as an exchange with the music, letting the music move your body, letting rhythm move energy through you, is extremely theraputic. It helps get the stuck unstuck, helps release self-consciousness that binds our joy and creativity, it helps free us and inspire us. It brings our light out.
Don't take music lightly. Don't conform, listen to what moves your heart and soul, even if it is the same song 14 times in a row! Try new music to see the world through another's eyes and maybe even find a new part of yourSelf.
Playing music, if you are so inclined, singing definately, are POWERFUL means of growth and expression. Bolo, Bolo!! (sing, sing, in Sanskrit!)
Music powerfully moves energy through the body. The right song at the right moment can trigger a huge release of energy- I know I have had shivers singing the right song at the right moment. I have had really high peak experiences, huge energetic releases complete with flowing tears, laughter, and feeling like inside of me a storm had ended, dark clouds rolled away, and the sun came through to reveal the most perfect sunny, blue skies.
The wrong song at the wrong moment can also depress us, or focusing on music that evokes a particular downward spiral of energy can suppress, depress, and repress our energy. We can easily get almost addicted to the bitterness of sadness and keep rolling with it. It is healthy to use music to touch on pockets of sad or difficult emotions, to cry, sing, move them through, but we must be cautious not to ruminate or become stuck there. The name of the game is movement, kids. Everything in the universe is always in a state of fluidity, if we get stuck, we are not in harmony. Harmony is dynamic, harmony is dancing with the spontaneous rhythm of the universe as it unfolds.
With that thought in mind, dancing, not choreographed dancing, but spontaneous movement as an exchange with the music, letting the music move your body, letting rhythm move energy through you, is extremely theraputic. It helps get the stuck unstuck, helps release self-consciousness that binds our joy and creativity, it helps free us and inspire us. It brings our light out.
Don't take music lightly. Don't conform, listen to what moves your heart and soul, even if it is the same song 14 times in a row! Try new music to see the world through another's eyes and maybe even find a new part of yourSelf.
Playing music, if you are so inclined, singing definately, are POWERFUL means of growth and expression. Bolo, Bolo!! (sing, sing, in Sanskrit!)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
If You Think You Know, You Probably Don't
Shyam Das said this at a recent Kirtan Festival I joyously attended, "He who thinks he knows, certainly doesn't know, but he who thinks he doesn't know, may know."
Sometimes we fool ourselves into believing in concrete states of knowing or being. Nothing is solid, nothing is set in stone, nothing is permanent, nothing is unchanging. Yet we seek some sort of solid perfection, solid harmony, solid sense of who we are, where we are, or where we are going... but the truth is that although we can intuit, can co-create, can participate, we can't ever know for sure. Nothing is solid.
Balance is dynamic. Harmony is a constant flowing conversation with reality. Happiness, health, peace, all of these are a constant state of fluctuation with the ocean of life. Either we surf, or we struggle. Yoga practice is attempting over and over to get on that board and ride the waves in. Fall as many times as we may, we keep learning the dance. We keep learning and become better and better at riding, enjoying our time more and more along the way. This is life.
We tell ourselves that we'll be ready to take chances, to have adventures, to find love, when we are more solid, when we know. What are we waiting to know that we don't already know? What makes us think the endless cycle of forgetting and learning isn't going to continue as it has always throughout our lifetime and throughout the ages?
Today is the day to open up to the endless flow of life. Participate in the conversation. Fall and get up again, over and over. Shine. Grow. Learn. Love. And live your life like it is the only one you have to live, give your gratitude, appreciation and love to the world around you like this moment is your only moment. The rest will figure itself out...
Thank you for your darshan Shyam Das!!
Infinite gratitude to every being that touches my life, may my love reach you all, and all beings, everywhere!!
<3,laura
Sometimes we fool ourselves into believing in concrete states of knowing or being. Nothing is solid, nothing is set in stone, nothing is permanent, nothing is unchanging. Yet we seek some sort of solid perfection, solid harmony, solid sense of who we are, where we are, or where we are going... but the truth is that although we can intuit, can co-create, can participate, we can't ever know for sure. Nothing is solid.
Balance is dynamic. Harmony is a constant flowing conversation with reality. Happiness, health, peace, all of these are a constant state of fluctuation with the ocean of life. Either we surf, or we struggle. Yoga practice is attempting over and over to get on that board and ride the waves in. Fall as many times as we may, we keep learning the dance. We keep learning and become better and better at riding, enjoying our time more and more along the way. This is life.
We tell ourselves that we'll be ready to take chances, to have adventures, to find love, when we are more solid, when we know. What are we waiting to know that we don't already know? What makes us think the endless cycle of forgetting and learning isn't going to continue as it has always throughout our lifetime and throughout the ages?
Today is the day to open up to the endless flow of life. Participate in the conversation. Fall and get up again, over and over. Shine. Grow. Learn. Love. And live your life like it is the only one you have to live, give your gratitude, appreciation and love to the world around you like this moment is your only moment. The rest will figure itself out...
Thank you for your darshan Shyam Das!!
Infinite gratitude to every being that touches my life, may my love reach you all, and all beings, everywhere!!
<3,laura
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!
Monday, April 23, 2012
The Purpose of Suffering.. or at least one of the positive purposes it serves
What I have seen in my life, coming into sharper and sharper focus, is that fact that suffering has many positive purposes. Granted, if we all always suffered severely, we would probably just want to die and give up on this whole physical plane thing, but suffering comes and goes in cycles like anything else.
Generally, suffering comes from resistance, fear, and destructive/loss cycles of life... times when we lose something or someone, or close a chapter to our life story. One chapter closes so that another can begin, though, we must always remember that...
What I have seen though, at least as a healer of sorts, is that every single way I have ever suffered has given me a connection to another being years later.. my struggle that I overcame in the past (sometimes distant past, sometimes maybe a week ago!) is the very same way in which this other person is now caught, suffering, struggling, and I now have the direct experience and thus humility and insights, to in some way be of service.
This has happened many times over in my world. It gives me more peace when I go through difficult times, since I know that I am not alone. I cease to feel sorry for myself, or at least get out of that self-pity pool much quicker, perhaps just a fast dip! I can see the purposeful patterns emerging in my lifetime.. and I cannot pretend to know exactly what shall be, but as my intuition sharpens I feel it happening from an earlier and earlier point.
It is hard to roll with difficult experiences with grace.. it takes enormous trust, faith, not in the conventional sense so much as faith in your own inner strength and ability to persevere. Trusting that life brings about purposeful experiences and a purposeful arrangement helps give us something to hold on to. This concept is called "vinyasa" in Sanskrit- purposeful arrangement, to place in a special way, or a cycle with phases, such as the seasons or moon cycles.
Another concept that ties into this is synchronicity, which, once you are open to, gives you a LOT of inspiration, joy, and strength... Synchronicity is seeing everything that happens as purposeful, and thinking that coincidences don't blindly exist, but instead are very meaningful. A way to view it is as if everything that happens in your life is part of a conversation with the universe (or a higher power or however you perceive it to work in your worldview)... everything is purposeful, even your suffering.. and when you see yourself heal, move on happier then ever and more full of life, you can easily start to feel this way. Then when you in turn, quite naturally, see the opportunity arise to use that experience to help ease another's suffering, it can be powerfully encouraging. Then when you find another difficult transition, confidence has grown, it becomes easier and easier.
Life is not bleak... it can be bliss... we just have to adjust and attune our perceptions to an increasingly larger and larger view to see it....
Blessings! ~<3, laura
Generally, suffering comes from resistance, fear, and destructive/loss cycles of life... times when we lose something or someone, or close a chapter to our life story. One chapter closes so that another can begin, though, we must always remember that...
What I have seen though, at least as a healer of sorts, is that every single way I have ever suffered has given me a connection to another being years later.. my struggle that I overcame in the past (sometimes distant past, sometimes maybe a week ago!) is the very same way in which this other person is now caught, suffering, struggling, and I now have the direct experience and thus humility and insights, to in some way be of service.
This has happened many times over in my world. It gives me more peace when I go through difficult times, since I know that I am not alone. I cease to feel sorry for myself, or at least get out of that self-pity pool much quicker, perhaps just a fast dip! I can see the purposeful patterns emerging in my lifetime.. and I cannot pretend to know exactly what shall be, but as my intuition sharpens I feel it happening from an earlier and earlier point.
It is hard to roll with difficult experiences with grace.. it takes enormous trust, faith, not in the conventional sense so much as faith in your own inner strength and ability to persevere. Trusting that life brings about purposeful experiences and a purposeful arrangement helps give us something to hold on to. This concept is called "vinyasa" in Sanskrit- purposeful arrangement, to place in a special way, or a cycle with phases, such as the seasons or moon cycles.
Another concept that ties into this is synchronicity, which, once you are open to, gives you a LOT of inspiration, joy, and strength... Synchronicity is seeing everything that happens as purposeful, and thinking that coincidences don't blindly exist, but instead are very meaningful. A way to view it is as if everything that happens in your life is part of a conversation with the universe (or a higher power or however you perceive it to work in your worldview)... everything is purposeful, even your suffering.. and when you see yourself heal, move on happier then ever and more full of life, you can easily start to feel this way. Then when you in turn, quite naturally, see the opportunity arise to use that experience to help ease another's suffering, it can be powerfully encouraging. Then when you find another difficult transition, confidence has grown, it becomes easier and easier.
Life is not bleak... it can be bliss... we just have to adjust and attune our perceptions to an increasingly larger and larger view to see it....
Blessings! ~<3, laura
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Mourning the Mirage
I believe in love. I believe that two people can stay together for a very long time and truly remain in love with each other. I also believe that finding this kind of love is a birthright, but that most people jump the gun and miss the mark. I don't know about there being just one... I tend to see romantic relationships as a progression, and an opportunity for growth, perhaps ending up at one that works for the long haul... or perhaps just relationships of varying lengths throughout our lifetime... the answer to this probably varies for each person's life story.
Most, if not all, people have the strong urge to pair up- to find someone, a partner, to share life with. We all want someone to love us just the way we are, through thick and thin, someone to have fun with, to be intimate with, to curl up with, a friend, but so much more. And no one wants to get old alone, right? We want a partner in life especially perhaps so that we are not lonely when we are old and so that we do not die alone.
I think all too often, because we are so excited to find this someone or a someone that fits the bill, we take our good intentions and excitement too far and we meet someone that we like alright, and in our heads we try to make the square peg fit into the round hole. We kind of convince ourselves that this person is exactly what we want and need, because, well, they are here now. We sell ourselves a dream, we compromise, or settle as people often say.
Human beings are very excellent at rationalizing things. We can even rationalize ourselves into love. My theory on falling in love is that we see this person we have met, and we know or perceive some things about them, but there are many gaps where we simply do not have information. Our mind superimposes our own feelings, wishes and views upon them, filling in these gaps and creating a connection to them as being who and what we perceive them to be- filled with our own ideas as much as or more then the reality of who they actually are.
When the "honeymoon stage" wears off, I think we begin to see someone as a little bit closer to what or who they are, as opposed to the image we have built in our minds of who we imagined them to be that we actually fell in love with. Then we may fall in love with the more real version of who they are, or we may say to ourselves, maybe even to them, "you've changed. I wish you would be the same as when we first fell in love.", "Why are things so different?", "What changed?" We may be pleasantly surprized, and form a solid relationship based on two people caring about each other, growing as individuals and growing together. This is the ideal scenario, and it certainly can and does happen.
Sadly, more often we are incredibly let down when we reach this point. But because we had such a strong connection and investment in who we thought they were, we stay. We also stay often times because no one wants to be lonely, or be the bad guy or girl that breaks a heart. So we drag out a relationship that we are not happy in well past the point of realization that this is not working and is over. This describes a lot of marriages and relationships, unfortunately. We have all seen it and or been there: the couple that bickers over nothing, shows no signs of being in love, caring, touching or even intimacy. It is the zombie-ghost-image of a couple. No one wants it, but so many people settle for it for fear of social disapproval, for fear of hurting the other (even though nothing would hurt me worse then being unwanted and strung along), for fear of being alone (as if there are no other people in the universe or as if sleeping alone might kill you instantly).
People are clingers, we are. We get attached to an idea of reality and like to stick to that better then owning up to real truth because we are scared little beings. We seem so mighty when we raze a landscape of trees to build a strip mall, or when we kill each other with giant, crazy weapons for very archaic or materialistic motives, but when it comes to the one-on-one scale, and our inner workings, we are very fragile and frightened creatures.
Many break-ups and divorces are a long time coming before they come, and this whole experience is why... we were never in love with each other, but in love with the idea we had of who the other was. When we woke up and saw this other person for who they actually were, we realized we weren't really connected.
Knowing this can help make handling break-ups easier. We begin to see that instead of losing "the one" we are moving forward and one step closer to finding someone we are genuinely in love with. We have to recognize the image we had of our partner is what we were in love with and who we are missing. We can have great fondness or even love for the person we actually were with... in time we may develop a very deep friendship. And we can move forward, and with great care we can listen deeply and honestly to our hearts and let ourselves fall in love naturally, instead of rushing it or forcing it.
Even very conscious people will most likely superimpose some of their own wishes upon the reality of the being they are with at the start, but when that image fades, it is possible to recognize the difference between fantasy and reality and love reality when it sets in. It takes discernment, patience, and compassion. It takes honesty and strength to be upfront with ourselves, because love is an interesting thing. We can choose to be loving people, and to widen our circle of compassion to include all beings, all life, the entire universe, but romantic love is a fickle thing. True romantic compatability, being "in love" as it is called, I believe is a very subtle thing. It is based on energy and vibrations... either two beings are harmonious or not, and the depth of their harmony determines the depth of their relationship. If as two beings progress through life, as both evolve and change, if their energetic vibrations remain harmonious through all of the transformations, then they will happily be able to stay together. There are likely to be times when they are not harmonious here and there, but harmony can be cultivated, and these patches where they do not resonate beautifully should be brief. Too many people remain trapped and held back out of fear, when this is actually stunting both people tremendously; mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually....
We can strive to become as aware as possible, to avoid these pitfalls, to own the truth of our life situation with strength and integrity, out of respect for ourselves and for each other. We can let go of trying to change the other person to fit the ideas and images we projected onto them or wished for them to fulfill and we can allow ourselves to either move on or fall in love with the actual person we are with. Any move made in honesty, compassion and integrity with reality will enrich both people's lives for the better, even if pain is part of the process.
Most, if not all, people have the strong urge to pair up- to find someone, a partner, to share life with. We all want someone to love us just the way we are, through thick and thin, someone to have fun with, to be intimate with, to curl up with, a friend, but so much more. And no one wants to get old alone, right? We want a partner in life especially perhaps so that we are not lonely when we are old and so that we do not die alone.
I think all too often, because we are so excited to find this someone or a someone that fits the bill, we take our good intentions and excitement too far and we meet someone that we like alright, and in our heads we try to make the square peg fit into the round hole. We kind of convince ourselves that this person is exactly what we want and need, because, well, they are here now. We sell ourselves a dream, we compromise, or settle as people often say.
Human beings are very excellent at rationalizing things. We can even rationalize ourselves into love. My theory on falling in love is that we see this person we have met, and we know or perceive some things about them, but there are many gaps where we simply do not have information. Our mind superimposes our own feelings, wishes and views upon them, filling in these gaps and creating a connection to them as being who and what we perceive them to be- filled with our own ideas as much as or more then the reality of who they actually are.
When the "honeymoon stage" wears off, I think we begin to see someone as a little bit closer to what or who they are, as opposed to the image we have built in our minds of who we imagined them to be that we actually fell in love with. Then we may fall in love with the more real version of who they are, or we may say to ourselves, maybe even to them, "you've changed. I wish you would be the same as when we first fell in love.", "Why are things so different?", "What changed?" We may be pleasantly surprized, and form a solid relationship based on two people caring about each other, growing as individuals and growing together. This is the ideal scenario, and it certainly can and does happen.
Sadly, more often we are incredibly let down when we reach this point. But because we had such a strong connection and investment in who we thought they were, we stay. We also stay often times because no one wants to be lonely, or be the bad guy or girl that breaks a heart. So we drag out a relationship that we are not happy in well past the point of realization that this is not working and is over. This describes a lot of marriages and relationships, unfortunately. We have all seen it and or been there: the couple that bickers over nothing, shows no signs of being in love, caring, touching or even intimacy. It is the zombie-ghost-image of a couple. No one wants it, but so many people settle for it for fear of social disapproval, for fear of hurting the other (even though nothing would hurt me worse then being unwanted and strung along), for fear of being alone (as if there are no other people in the universe or as if sleeping alone might kill you instantly).
People are clingers, we are. We get attached to an idea of reality and like to stick to that better then owning up to real truth because we are scared little beings. We seem so mighty when we raze a landscape of trees to build a strip mall, or when we kill each other with giant, crazy weapons for very archaic or materialistic motives, but when it comes to the one-on-one scale, and our inner workings, we are very fragile and frightened creatures.
Many break-ups and divorces are a long time coming before they come, and this whole experience is why... we were never in love with each other, but in love with the idea we had of who the other was. When we woke up and saw this other person for who they actually were, we realized we weren't really connected.
Knowing this can help make handling break-ups easier. We begin to see that instead of losing "the one" we are moving forward and one step closer to finding someone we are genuinely in love with. We have to recognize the image we had of our partner is what we were in love with and who we are missing. We can have great fondness or even love for the person we actually were with... in time we may develop a very deep friendship. And we can move forward, and with great care we can listen deeply and honestly to our hearts and let ourselves fall in love naturally, instead of rushing it or forcing it.
Even very conscious people will most likely superimpose some of their own wishes upon the reality of the being they are with at the start, but when that image fades, it is possible to recognize the difference between fantasy and reality and love reality when it sets in. It takes discernment, patience, and compassion. It takes honesty and strength to be upfront with ourselves, because love is an interesting thing. We can choose to be loving people, and to widen our circle of compassion to include all beings, all life, the entire universe, but romantic love is a fickle thing. True romantic compatability, being "in love" as it is called, I believe is a very subtle thing. It is based on energy and vibrations... either two beings are harmonious or not, and the depth of their harmony determines the depth of their relationship. If as two beings progress through life, as both evolve and change, if their energetic vibrations remain harmonious through all of the transformations, then they will happily be able to stay together. There are likely to be times when they are not harmonious here and there, but harmony can be cultivated, and these patches where they do not resonate beautifully should be brief. Too many people remain trapped and held back out of fear, when this is actually stunting both people tremendously; mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually....
We can strive to become as aware as possible, to avoid these pitfalls, to own the truth of our life situation with strength and integrity, out of respect for ourselves and for each other. We can let go of trying to change the other person to fit the ideas and images we projected onto them or wished for them to fulfill and we can allow ourselves to either move on or fall in love with the actual person we are with. Any move made in honesty, compassion and integrity with reality will enrich both people's lives for the better, even if pain is part of the process.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Expand into Nature + Walk Until Your Mind Shuts Up
There is a monstrous difference in our energy when we are indoors versus being outdoors in nature. Even if you don't think of urban or suburban sidewalks as 'nature', being outside period invites our energy to return to its natural expansive state.
The Yoga Spanadakarika calls the state of self-consciousness and ignorance we typically live in a "constriction of shakti", or life energy. When we are in a state of yoga, or harmony, our shakti is expansive, we are unbound. It makes perfect sense to describe it this way: if you watch your experience, when you enter inside from the outdoors, even more noticeably when you enter a public place with chaotic energy, such as a mall, and feel your energy. When you are anxious or uncomfortable in any way, watch your energy, the sensations you experience. Feel how your body tightens up, draws in towards the center, tenses. Our creativity is restrained, our attitude is not as positive, our confidence is often retreated within itself. When we are feeling whole and harmonious, we tend to feel open, light, free, inspired, creative, bold, literally expansive. When we go outside, we can feel this shift, from the walls and ceilings constricting our energy to the buoyant lightness, freedom as we unfurl and merge with the sky. This is perhaps a very poetically subjective way to state the experience, but try it for yourself when you are in a sensitive state of awareness.
Being stuck in our thoughts is another form of constriction of shakti. As we withdraw into our own heads, we withdraw from our connection to the world and beings around us. As we become more openly aware of internal and external at once, more present, we expand once again to a more natural state and frequency of our energy. Walking briskly outdoors, while consciously feeling posture, breath, air, and drinking in the scenery with your eyes. Every time you notice that you are participating in thinking and the inner conversation, as soon as you are aware, come back to even just a moment of taking in the scenery with your heart and senses wide open, only space, no thoughts. You can't push the thinking out, but you can get used to not paying attention to it unless its functional. This allows you to tune your attention to a different wavelength- the wavelength of being present. After you walk a while and practice this, you will find more and more space in between the thoughts pervading your mind. You will feel less constricted, less congested, less cluttered and flustered, and instead calmer, more focused, more peaceful, energized and grateful. It depends on how long your mind needs to settle in, but 20-60 minutes is best.
Touching nature is always beneficial for our state of mental and physical health. Try to make some sort of contact everyday, with fresh air, sunshine, movement outdoors, and walk everyday if you can. Walking is the greatest natural anti-depressant. Whenever you feel stressed, just get outside and walk until your mind shuts up.
The Yoga Spanadakarika calls the state of self-consciousness and ignorance we typically live in a "constriction of shakti", or life energy. When we are in a state of yoga, or harmony, our shakti is expansive, we are unbound. It makes perfect sense to describe it this way: if you watch your experience, when you enter inside from the outdoors, even more noticeably when you enter a public place with chaotic energy, such as a mall, and feel your energy. When you are anxious or uncomfortable in any way, watch your energy, the sensations you experience. Feel how your body tightens up, draws in towards the center, tenses. Our creativity is restrained, our attitude is not as positive, our confidence is often retreated within itself. When we are feeling whole and harmonious, we tend to feel open, light, free, inspired, creative, bold, literally expansive. When we go outside, we can feel this shift, from the walls and ceilings constricting our energy to the buoyant lightness, freedom as we unfurl and merge with the sky. This is perhaps a very poetically subjective way to state the experience, but try it for yourself when you are in a sensitive state of awareness.
Being stuck in our thoughts is another form of constriction of shakti. As we withdraw into our own heads, we withdraw from our connection to the world and beings around us. As we become more openly aware of internal and external at once, more present, we expand once again to a more natural state and frequency of our energy. Walking briskly outdoors, while consciously feeling posture, breath, air, and drinking in the scenery with your eyes. Every time you notice that you are participating in thinking and the inner conversation, as soon as you are aware, come back to even just a moment of taking in the scenery with your heart and senses wide open, only space, no thoughts. You can't push the thinking out, but you can get used to not paying attention to it unless its functional. This allows you to tune your attention to a different wavelength- the wavelength of being present. After you walk a while and practice this, you will find more and more space in between the thoughts pervading your mind. You will feel less constricted, less congested, less cluttered and flustered, and instead calmer, more focused, more peaceful, energized and grateful. It depends on how long your mind needs to settle in, but 20-60 minutes is best.
Touching nature is always beneficial for our state of mental and physical health. Try to make some sort of contact everyday, with fresh air, sunshine, movement outdoors, and walk everyday if you can. Walking is the greatest natural anti-depressant. Whenever you feel stressed, just get outside and walk until your mind shuts up.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Ever-changing Context
When I lose my stride, I move until I find it again.
When its gone, its never lost, and it returns no matter what the cost.
Often found on the mat, in the sun, and all alone,
And in the silent spaces unknown.
Many people have come and gone,
Many beings have come and gone,
And all have worth just because of birth,
And because of birth comes death.
Nothing owes us anything,
Yet we owe everything to everything,
Independence is both a virtue and an illusion.
We all arise, energies rearrange, nothing ever stays the same,
It can't, stagnation means demise.
And even death means rearrangement,
Recycling, reincarnation, does it not?
Do you believe in all you see,
Then you simply must agree,
The corpse eaten by worm,
turns to dirt, dirt nourishes plant, plant in turn, becomes a bird.
Life leads us round an endless circle,
I imagine all the way from one to next to next,
And everything is an endless sea, of ever changing context.
When its gone, its never lost, and it returns no matter what the cost.
Often found on the mat, in the sun, and all alone,
And in the silent spaces unknown.
Many people have come and gone,
Many beings have come and gone,
And all have worth just because of birth,
And because of birth comes death.
Nothing owes us anything,
Yet we owe everything to everything,
Independence is both a virtue and an illusion.
We all arise, energies rearrange, nothing ever stays the same,
It can't, stagnation means demise.
And even death means rearrangement,
Recycling, reincarnation, does it not?
Do you believe in all you see,
Then you simply must agree,
The corpse eaten by worm,
turns to dirt, dirt nourishes plant, plant in turn, becomes a bird.
Life leads us round an endless circle,
I imagine all the way from one to next to next,
And everything is an endless sea, of ever changing context.
Monday, February 27, 2012
On Unconditional Love
The everyday kind of love in the yogic view is tainted with attachment. This doesn't refer to affection, it refers to the conditions we consciously or subconsciously apply to the relationship. I will love you as long as you fulfill x, y, and z. I will love you as long as you want to marry me, or do as I want, or give up what you do that rubs me the wrong way. I will love you as long as you obey me, let me control you, or as long as you give me everything I want.
We apply these conditions to all relationships unknowing, for example, we can get upset with our children because they may not want to submit their will to ours at all times. But is it reasonable to expect them to always submit their choices or even their comfort to our own? This truly is what we ask of them! Or in romantic relationships, we can often ask our partner to change to keep us liking them. We break down what it is to be ourselves and ask each other to play roles and put on masks. Is that healthy?
Even more subtle, the expectation for the other to love us back in the same way we love them is also a condition. It is a pretty subtle one indeed, yet it is a condition. If you have ever been in love you will know that it cannot be willed into being, it cannot be controlled, it doesn't happen by choice. It is completely natural, it is all feeling and not at all rational. If I am in love with you, it doesn't influence you being in love with me. There can be times in life we experience it. And depending on the unique situation, it can be very rich teaching grounds for both.
Don't ever feign love. Don't ever deny it. Do your best to guard it from conditional attachment. Let it be pure and unconditional, and it will fill your whole life with joy, light, and amazing experiences. It will expand your heart and consciousness exponentially.
We apply these conditions to all relationships unknowing, for example, we can get upset with our children because they may not want to submit their will to ours at all times. But is it reasonable to expect them to always submit their choices or even their comfort to our own? This truly is what we ask of them! Or in romantic relationships, we can often ask our partner to change to keep us liking them. We break down what it is to be ourselves and ask each other to play roles and put on masks. Is that healthy?
Even more subtle, the expectation for the other to love us back in the same way we love them is also a condition. It is a pretty subtle one indeed, yet it is a condition. If you have ever been in love you will know that it cannot be willed into being, it cannot be controlled, it doesn't happen by choice. It is completely natural, it is all feeling and not at all rational. If I am in love with you, it doesn't influence you being in love with me. There can be times in life we experience it. And depending on the unique situation, it can be very rich teaching grounds for both.
Don't ever feign love. Don't ever deny it. Do your best to guard it from conditional attachment. Let it be pure and unconditional, and it will fill your whole life with joy, light, and amazing experiences. It will expand your heart and consciousness exponentially.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Don't Wait Until Death to Appreciate the Here and Now
When we hear the frightening news of cancer or another ominous health crisis, for ourselves and our loved ones, we suddenly shift gears. We change our ways. We prioritize. When. We or a loved one receives the statement of "how long we have left", we open our eyes and hearts and start to share more freely how we feel. We love more fully, we live more fully. We tell the truth, we play harder, we lighten up, while feeling the very heavy sentence of how fleeting this precious life is.
What the hell is wrong with us?! Why don't we just live like that everyday? In the last few years I have sharply moved in this direction, and still haven't perfected it. But I do try my damnedest to express my love, gratitude, honest thoughts, and do my best to be present as much as possible. It has transformed my world. Some people run or are skeptical because this level of raw kindness and love is simply unheard of in everyday life. I'm okay with that. And I'm not special. Only in the fact that I have the inner freedom to live like this without fear of repercussions. Anyone can do it, we can decide at any time to just open our hearts and to tell everyone the good things we see in them when we notice them.
It empowers people, it strengthens them, it brightens their day and world. At the same time, the very amount of kindness and love we give genuinely without motives is the very amount we receive back. This is just how it works.
We never know when our time in this life will be up. Heaven forbid, we never. Know when we will last see the face of our most precious loved ones. Treasure them everyday. Treasure life everyday. Be quick to be kind, compassionate, sweet, loving, and grateful. You'll live an amazing incredible existence, whether you have 30 days or 30 years or more to go.
Love is all that lives on when we are gone... The memories that we create in the hearts of others.. Love is everything and everything is love.
Every moment is a miracle. Life owes us nothing and we receive so much everyday. Life is an adventure, filled with opportunity, simple and majestic experiences filled with delight. Enjoy this beautiful, bittersweet and brief life!!
What the hell is wrong with us?! Why don't we just live like that everyday? In the last few years I have sharply moved in this direction, and still haven't perfected it. But I do try my damnedest to express my love, gratitude, honest thoughts, and do my best to be present as much as possible. It has transformed my world. Some people run or are skeptical because this level of raw kindness and love is simply unheard of in everyday life. I'm okay with that. And I'm not special. Only in the fact that I have the inner freedom to live like this without fear of repercussions. Anyone can do it, we can decide at any time to just open our hearts and to tell everyone the good things we see in them when we notice them.
It empowers people, it strengthens them, it brightens their day and world. At the same time, the very amount of kindness and love we give genuinely without motives is the very amount we receive back. This is just how it works.
We never know when our time in this life will be up. Heaven forbid, we never. Know when we will last see the face of our most precious loved ones. Treasure them everyday. Treasure life everyday. Be quick to be kind, compassionate, sweet, loving, and grateful. You'll live an amazing incredible existence, whether you have 30 days or 30 years or more to go.
Love is all that lives on when we are gone... The memories that we create in the hearts of others.. Love is everything and everything is love.
Every moment is a miracle. Life owes us nothing and we receive so much everyday. Life is an adventure, filled with opportunity, simple and majestic experiences filled with delight. Enjoy this beautiful, bittersweet and brief life!!
Yoga De-mystified
Because yoga roots are wound in esoteric writings and a richly textured cultural background, there is a sort of mystery to it, especially when carried into the Western world.
The truth is that the essence of yoga can be de-mystified and gently unwrapped from its original cultural package to reveal shining truths about the heart of what it is to be a human.
Yoga practices and exercises are designed, at the most fundamental level, to reveal to us who and what we are, beyond all of the layers of accumulated baggage. They cut right through all false concepts of self and self-consciousness and reveal the shining heart of our individual identity. They not only help us to blossom fully as an individual, but they connect us to the universal layer of our selves as well, the layer at which everything is completely interconnected.
So while on the surface we cleanse our bodies and minds- tone, stretch, realign our bodies; balance, focus, and calm our minds; investigate our psyche; we also connect to the deepest layer of our existence on both individual and universal levels. This enhances our peace, health, happiness, creativity, social skills, success, sense of connection and compassion, feelings of satisfaction and leads us to a state of wholeness.
Yoga in essence describes that state of balanced wholeness, living in our fullest positive potential. Yoga can be found in any moment, in any experience, in any activity. Yoga is a state of being that is natural to every human being, across all external differences. Yoga is at heart what it is to be human.
The truth is that the essence of yoga can be de-mystified and gently unwrapped from its original cultural package to reveal shining truths about the heart of what it is to be a human.
Yoga practices and exercises are designed, at the most fundamental level, to reveal to us who and what we are, beyond all of the layers of accumulated baggage. They cut right through all false concepts of self and self-consciousness and reveal the shining heart of our individual identity. They not only help us to blossom fully as an individual, but they connect us to the universal layer of our selves as well, the layer at which everything is completely interconnected.
So while on the surface we cleanse our bodies and minds- tone, stretch, realign our bodies; balance, focus, and calm our minds; investigate our psyche; we also connect to the deepest layer of our existence on both individual and universal levels. This enhances our peace, health, happiness, creativity, social skills, success, sense of connection and compassion, feelings of satisfaction and leads us to a state of wholeness.
Yoga in essence describes that state of balanced wholeness, living in our fullest positive potential. Yoga can be found in any moment, in any experience, in any activity. Yoga is a state of being that is natural to every human being, across all external differences. Yoga is at heart what it is to be human.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Habits of Unhappiness
Some of the most amazing people in my life, some of the most beloved, seem to have a difficult time becoming satisfied with life. They don't seem to see their own value, their own unique spark, and they are so used to feeling unhappy that they seem to be stuck there.
We get so accustomed to a worldview and a way of life that even if it is miserable, or a prison, we somehow feel safe with its familiarity. We are so stuck in the groove of feeling a certain way, that we just let it keep perpetuating, even when it no longer describes our current experience of life.
I have encountered the same experience within myself. I used to have extremely poor self-image. I used to look through magazines just to sink deeper into self-loathing. It was a strong, ugly, miserable groove to be stuck in. Years later, almost tracelessly freed from that self-hatred, and actually quite happy with myself inside and out, those old familiar feelings were triggered by a current experience that recalled memories from that time in my history. Nostalgia for other circumstances and experiences from that time and place brought the familar pangs of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Yet this time, when I witnessed the urges and experiences, I found that these feelings no longer described me, in fact they felt like a dried husk of the former reality. They weren't me, or my actual experience. Just the memory of an old habit. Witnessing that, they fell away.
There is great power in the practice of just witnessing that we learn on the mat. It is the fundemnetal practice of the yoga path. It broadens our perspective and gives us the ability to extricate our sense of who we are from what we experience. We then have a choice on how to view the world, our life, ourselves.
To all beings trapped in unhappiness, take heart. Focus on what is GOOD, beautiful, meaningful in your life. Don't hold on to negativity, let it pass through you. Take good care of your body, because an unhealthy or polluted body will cause great discomfort that drags down the cheeriest of hearts. What you admire most in others is what you are. Your heart is your greatest asset and worth, your worth is not derived from external circumstances like money, possesions, or appearance.
Thoughts and habits are not US, they aren't who we ARE. We are loving-consciousness. We ARE the compassionate witness, that which is deep within and beyond all life circumstances. Through the practices of yoga we connect with THAT and we are transformed as we blossom fully into our greatest potential as individual beings, wholly interconnected yet totally unique. In connecting with our deepest Self, our surface habits can freely transform to aid us in our path to complete happiness and freedom from suffering. Be dilligent, patient, and firm but loving, and it will happen. Happiness can become your new worldview and habitual state of being.
Blessings to you, and to all beings... ~Laura
We get so accustomed to a worldview and a way of life that even if it is miserable, or a prison, we somehow feel safe with its familiarity. We are so stuck in the groove of feeling a certain way, that we just let it keep perpetuating, even when it no longer describes our current experience of life.
I have encountered the same experience within myself. I used to have extremely poor self-image. I used to look through magazines just to sink deeper into self-loathing. It was a strong, ugly, miserable groove to be stuck in. Years later, almost tracelessly freed from that self-hatred, and actually quite happy with myself inside and out, those old familiar feelings were triggered by a current experience that recalled memories from that time in my history. Nostalgia for other circumstances and experiences from that time and place brought the familar pangs of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Yet this time, when I witnessed the urges and experiences, I found that these feelings no longer described me, in fact they felt like a dried husk of the former reality. They weren't me, or my actual experience. Just the memory of an old habit. Witnessing that, they fell away.
There is great power in the practice of just witnessing that we learn on the mat. It is the fundemnetal practice of the yoga path. It broadens our perspective and gives us the ability to extricate our sense of who we are from what we experience. We then have a choice on how to view the world, our life, ourselves.
To all beings trapped in unhappiness, take heart. Focus on what is GOOD, beautiful, meaningful in your life. Don't hold on to negativity, let it pass through you. Take good care of your body, because an unhealthy or polluted body will cause great discomfort that drags down the cheeriest of hearts. What you admire most in others is what you are. Your heart is your greatest asset and worth, your worth is not derived from external circumstances like money, possesions, or appearance.
Thoughts and habits are not US, they aren't who we ARE. We are loving-consciousness. We ARE the compassionate witness, that which is deep within and beyond all life circumstances. Through the practices of yoga we connect with THAT and we are transformed as we blossom fully into our greatest potential as individual beings, wholly interconnected yet totally unique. In connecting with our deepest Self, our surface habits can freely transform to aid us in our path to complete happiness and freedom from suffering. Be dilligent, patient, and firm but loving, and it will happen. Happiness can become your new worldview and habitual state of being.
Blessings to you, and to all beings... ~Laura
Monday, February 20, 2012
Out of Our Heads and Into the Moment
It is astonishing how much suffering we cause ourselves by tripping over the hypothetical situations in our own minds. We often take things personally that have absolutely nothing to do with us. We hold on to it, spin a tale, make drama, react to the stress, and later find out that it was all just in our own minds.
Example: I left a lot of dishes in the sink when I left last night, (which is not typical for me at all) and when my roommate didn't answer my texts this morning my head fabricated all sorts of garbage, such as "she's angry at me", and all the way to, "maybe I left a burner on and the house exploded". At this stage in the game, I witnessed those thoughts and didn't start to panic and blow up her phone. Which is good, because she was actually at a very high-stress business meeting on her day off. What a foolish thing the human mind is.
We do this same torturous action to ourselves over and over. Everything is personal. Really, though, is it?? Even when people direct anger towards us in an otherwise personal way, we have to realize that their view is colored by an entire lifetime of actions, reactions, history and whatever mind-garbage was floating through their mind clouding their view at the time.
It amazes me sometimes how the average person can even drive a car without crashing into everything... with all that clutter and hypothetical drama threatening their view in every moment!!
According to Eastern philosophy, the way we label this part of our self that is so selfish, easily-threatened and deluded, is the "ego", or "small-self" or "self" with a lowercase s. The "Self", the "highest Self", or "big-mind" in Buddhism denote the part of us that is interconnected and whole, at one and at peace with Reality and the entire Universe. It is the part of us that knows our mind is sometimes and maybe quite frequently ridiculous.
Practicing meditation and yoga poses helps us to get in the habit of connecting with the expansive, Universal side of ourselves, and helps us to witness the ego in all of its insanity. The Universal Self is the sane part of each of us. The more we practice, the more deeply we connect and then we build a new way of viewing the world that encourages our greatest potential and saves us from surrendering to unneeded stress created by the funny functioning of the human mind. This thing should come with an owner's manual.
Example: I left a lot of dishes in the sink when I left last night, (which is not typical for me at all) and when my roommate didn't answer my texts this morning my head fabricated all sorts of garbage, such as "she's angry at me", and all the way to, "maybe I left a burner on and the house exploded". At this stage in the game, I witnessed those thoughts and didn't start to panic and blow up her phone. Which is good, because she was actually at a very high-stress business meeting on her day off. What a foolish thing the human mind is.
We do this same torturous action to ourselves over and over. Everything is personal. Really, though, is it?? Even when people direct anger towards us in an otherwise personal way, we have to realize that their view is colored by an entire lifetime of actions, reactions, history and whatever mind-garbage was floating through their mind clouding their view at the time.
It amazes me sometimes how the average person can even drive a car without crashing into everything... with all that clutter and hypothetical drama threatening their view in every moment!!
According to Eastern philosophy, the way we label this part of our self that is so selfish, easily-threatened and deluded, is the "ego", or "small-self" or "self" with a lowercase s. The "Self", the "highest Self", or "big-mind" in Buddhism denote the part of us that is interconnected and whole, at one and at peace with Reality and the entire Universe. It is the part of us that knows our mind is sometimes and maybe quite frequently ridiculous.
Practicing meditation and yoga poses helps us to get in the habit of connecting with the expansive, Universal side of ourselves, and helps us to witness the ego in all of its insanity. The Universal Self is the sane part of each of us. The more we practice, the more deeply we connect and then we build a new way of viewing the world that encourages our greatest potential and saves us from surrendering to unneeded stress created by the funny functioning of the human mind. This thing should come with an owner's manual.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Weathering the Ups + Downs and Staying Open
In order to blossom, that requires us to allow ourselves to be open. We have to stop ignoring our experience, our mental-physical-emotional experience day in and day out. We have to witness the highs of joy and ecstacy and the lows of emotional and physical pain with openess. It is intense. But anthing short of that is to die a little to life.
We have to witness our urges, our longings, our feelings, and let them show us the truth. Once you are in-love, you forever know what it feels like to be in love. The glow of timeless being togetherness, savoring of closeness and fulfilment of desire. But we rarely acknowledge that what is also part of that love is the sweet agony of longing, the painful tearing at the soul in parting, and the depth of loneliness before we find that love or when it perishes, not to mention the ecstatic bittersweet pain of longing for each other throughout the development of the relationship.
Where typical Americans are encouraged to become hardened to the raw intensity of experience in order to become more efficient, more rational, more conformed to social norms and mores, the truly conscious person goes in the other direction. Can we remove every barrier between us and reality in all its raw, fearsome, swe-striking, ambrosial beauty? Can we forge ourselves in that fiery intensity of sensation and become open to the world? This enables us to feel everything, to miss nothing, to find inner peace in all circumstances and gives us the strength to live the truth of our hearts and thus an extraordinary life with no regrets.
It requires us to witness it all. The raw, dull ache of loneliness or longing. The sharp tearing of loss. The flush of fire in embarasment and anger or injustice. The open, expansive joy of loving. The feelings of aliveness that comes in all of this. This is real life, this is reality; not the sanitized, vaccuum-sealed consumer friendly version of life that serves corporate bottom-lines well, which we are sold in our ridiculous culture. Happiness doesn't come from giving in to conformity, it comes from knowing and following your very own heart.
Stay open. Witness your experience. Talk to others or rest in stillness on your own. Connect with nature. Use powerful hobbies like music and art and writing to move the energy through you and allow it to become a creative force. Out of the force of our experience in life comes all inspiration and art. From stillness arises insight, from insight arises freedom.
We have to witness our urges, our longings, our feelings, and let them show us the truth. Once you are in-love, you forever know what it feels like to be in love. The glow of timeless being togetherness, savoring of closeness and fulfilment of desire. But we rarely acknowledge that what is also part of that love is the sweet agony of longing, the painful tearing at the soul in parting, and the depth of loneliness before we find that love or when it perishes, not to mention the ecstatic bittersweet pain of longing for each other throughout the development of the relationship.
Where typical Americans are encouraged to become hardened to the raw intensity of experience in order to become more efficient, more rational, more conformed to social norms and mores, the truly conscious person goes in the other direction. Can we remove every barrier between us and reality in all its raw, fearsome, swe-striking, ambrosial beauty? Can we forge ourselves in that fiery intensity of sensation and become open to the world? This enables us to feel everything, to miss nothing, to find inner peace in all circumstances and gives us the strength to live the truth of our hearts and thus an extraordinary life with no regrets.
It requires us to witness it all. The raw, dull ache of loneliness or longing. The sharp tearing of loss. The flush of fire in embarasment and anger or injustice. The open, expansive joy of loving. The feelings of aliveness that comes in all of this. This is real life, this is reality; not the sanitized, vaccuum-sealed consumer friendly version of life that serves corporate bottom-lines well, which we are sold in our ridiculous culture. Happiness doesn't come from giving in to conformity, it comes from knowing and following your very own heart.
Stay open. Witness your experience. Talk to others or rest in stillness on your own. Connect with nature. Use powerful hobbies like music and art and writing to move the energy through you and allow it to become a creative force. Out of the force of our experience in life comes all inspiration and art. From stillness arises insight, from insight arises freedom.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
January 2012 teaching: The Bravery to Bloom
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." ~Anais
Nin
Yoga practices help us to clear away the debris that gets in the way of expressing our innermost and highest nature. It helps us to clear away all that is false to be
our true selves. Many of us, I daresay in the Western world especially, all of us, at one time or another struggle with our confidence or our self-image. For some of
us, that negative view is debilitating and robs us of all real joy in life. For some, our harsh self-view is the ultimate obstacle to freedom in life. There comes a
point when, as Rumi calls it, we reach, "self-hating fatigue", the point at which we cannot stand to be so filled with hate, anger, guilt, and sadness. This is the
point from which we give up clinging to our fear, and we are ready to blossom. We can give up the habits of negative self-talk, self-depreciating, passive-agressive
self destruction and finally begin to have compassion for our self as a living being.
Anyone can sit in self-pity and misery if it is their habit, but it takes true bravery to begin to care for ourselves. And once we do, we see that to care for oneself
is not selfish, but is the only way to care for others. When the cup of our heart is empty, we have nothing to give to others, we are not kind or compassionate. But
when the cup of our heart is full, that which overflows can be given to all around us, we are automatically kinder, more joyful, more helpful and patient. Being deeply
honest makes the world a better place by our mere presence. Following our heart conscience is the way to blossom and brighten the world. Our happiness lights the way
for those around us.
Building trust in your own heart-conscience by experience, you learn that you can withstand anything that life brings and that there is beauty to be found everywhere.
NO ROOM FOR
FORM by RUMI
On the night when you cross the street
From your shop and your house
To the cemetery
You'll hear
me hailing you from inside
The open grave, and you'll realize
How we've always been together.
I am the
clear consciousness-core
Of your being, the same in
Ecstasy as in self-hating fatigue.
That night,
when you escape your fear of snakebite
And all irritations with the ants, you'll hear
My familiar voice, see the candle being lit,
Smell the incense, the surprise meal fixed
By the lover inside all your other lovers. This heart
tumult is my signal
to you igniting in the tomb.
So don't fuss with the shroud
And the graveyard dust.
Those get ripped open and washed away
In the music of our final meeting.
And don't
look for me in human shape,
I am inside your looking. No room
For form with love this strong.
Beat the drum
and let the poets speak.
This is the day of purification for those who
Are already mature and initiated into what love is.
No need to
wait until we die!
There's more to want here than money
And being famous and bites of roasted meat.
Now, what
shall we call this new sort of gazing house
That has opened in our town where people sit
Quietly and pour out their glancing
Like light, like answering?
'No room for
form' by Jelaluddin Rumi page 138 'The 'Essential Rumi' translations by Coleman
Barks. Harper Collins 1995
Nin
Yoga practices help us to clear away the debris that gets in the way of expressing our innermost and highest nature. It helps us to clear away all that is false to be
our true selves. Many of us, I daresay in the Western world especially, all of us, at one time or another struggle with our confidence or our self-image. For some of
us, that negative view is debilitating and robs us of all real joy in life. For some, our harsh self-view is the ultimate obstacle to freedom in life. There comes a
point when, as Rumi calls it, we reach, "self-hating fatigue", the point at which we cannot stand to be so filled with hate, anger, guilt, and sadness. This is the
point from which we give up clinging to our fear, and we are ready to blossom. We can give up the habits of negative self-talk, self-depreciating, passive-agressive
self destruction and finally begin to have compassion for our self as a living being.
Anyone can sit in self-pity and misery if it is their habit, but it takes true bravery to begin to care for ourselves. And once we do, we see that to care for oneself
is not selfish, but is the only way to care for others. When the cup of our heart is empty, we have nothing to give to others, we are not kind or compassionate. But
when the cup of our heart is full, that which overflows can be given to all around us, we are automatically kinder, more joyful, more helpful and patient. Being deeply
honest makes the world a better place by our mere presence. Following our heart conscience is the way to blossom and brighten the world. Our happiness lights the way
for those around us.
Building trust in your own heart-conscience by experience, you learn that you can withstand anything that life brings and that there is beauty to be found everywhere.
On the night when you cross the street
From your shop and your house
To the cemetery
The open grave, and you'll realize
How we've always been together.
Of your being, the same in
Ecstasy as in self-hating fatigue.
And all irritations with the ants, you'll hear
My familiar voice, see the candle being lit,
Smell the incense, the surprise meal fixed
By the lover inside all your other lovers.
to you igniting in the tomb.
So don't fuss with the shroud
And the graveyard dust.
Those get ripped open and washed away
In the music of our final meeting.
I am inside your looking. No room
For form with love this strong.
This is the day of purification for those who
Are already mature and initiated into what love is.
There's more to want here than money
And being famous and bites of roasted meat.
That has opened in our town where people sit
Quietly and pour out their glancing
Like light, like answering?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Music as Yoga Therapy
I had nearly forgotten what music has done in my life. Ever since I was old enough to know how to play a tape or CD, I would play a certain song or two, or album, over and over until I felt finished. That song or that album hit just the right chord in my heart: expressing the love, the loss, the longing, whatever I was experiencing at the moment. It would help me to move that energy through me, to process those feelings, insteaad of letting them get stuck. I'd feel fresh and new when I was finished.
Sharon and David offer music as one of the four pillars of the Jivamukti Yoga Method, and I totally understand why all over again. Not only the mantram, or sacred sounds, but any song or sound, if it is the right one in the right moment can be a mover of prana, of life energy. It triggers that feeling in the heart, and lets it flow. Sometimes it also helps tears to flow, further washing the energy through. Very often, at least for me, it is not enough to merely listen, but to sing the song, to belt it out, is what really does it. It is a form of pranayama.
What is the right song or sound? The one that you really want to hear, the one that feels right in the moment. You'll know when you've hit it- it'll be all you want to hear. It will leave you feeling fresh, present, expansive, clear and free.
Sharon and David offer music as one of the four pillars of the Jivamukti Yoga Method, and I totally understand why all over again. Not only the mantram, or sacred sounds, but any song or sound, if it is the right one in the right moment can be a mover of prana, of life energy. It triggers that feeling in the heart, and lets it flow. Sometimes it also helps tears to flow, further washing the energy through. Very often, at least for me, it is not enough to merely listen, but to sing the song, to belt it out, is what really does it. It is a form of pranayama.
What is the right song or sound? The one that you really want to hear, the one that feels right in the moment. You'll know when you've hit it- it'll be all you want to hear. It will leave you feeling fresh, present, expansive, clear and free.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Fresh mind, Trusting Self, Flowing on the Blessed Path
When we embark on the spiritual path, that mere intention sets things into motion. With awareness comes information, feedback through the heart and body. We may receive a lot of feedback we consider positive or neutral, which is easy to honor.
We are greatly challenged when living in harmony with inner truth means doing something difficult, truly difficult. We are put to the test. And we will be slowly, quietly grinding until we walk the talk and listen to our spiritual-heart's intelligence. The karma will repeat, the groove (or pit) will get deeper, we'll get increasingly stuck until we finally take responsibility and take the appropriate measures to become in harmony with the truth.
We can learn from each instance where we ignore our truth until a crescendo of consciousness makes it impossible to turn a blind eye anymore. We can use it to increase our awareness and trust the inner knowing above the rational sense of propriety, hoping not to fall into the same mistake again. If we vow to only follow our inner truth, and live up to it, wouldn't that be 'pushti marg', the path of grace? ...following only the inner light of knowing, the Divine Self... so very often it is effortless effort, but sometimes it is agonizing, relentless, and cruel... But it always facillitates the highest good of all. Follow with trust in your inner knowing at all times, and proceed with unconditional loving tenderness for all.
We are greatly challenged when living in harmony with inner truth means doing something difficult, truly difficult. We are put to the test. And we will be slowly, quietly grinding until we walk the talk and listen to our spiritual-heart's intelligence. The karma will repeat, the groove (or pit) will get deeper, we'll get increasingly stuck until we finally take responsibility and take the appropriate measures to become in harmony with the truth.
We can learn from each instance where we ignore our truth until a crescendo of consciousness makes it impossible to turn a blind eye anymore. We can use it to increase our awareness and trust the inner knowing above the rational sense of propriety, hoping not to fall into the same mistake again. If we vow to only follow our inner truth, and live up to it, wouldn't that be 'pushti marg', the path of grace? ...following only the inner light of knowing, the Divine Self... so very often it is effortless effort, but sometimes it is agonizing, relentless, and cruel... But it always facillitates the highest good of all. Follow with trust in your inner knowing at all times, and proceed with unconditional loving tenderness for all.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Love demands us to start fresh
A man (or woman), can never step into the same river twice. Both are constantly changing. It is never the same river, and we are never the same. Always changing, we keep evolving through our experiences. We can develop unconsciously by developing habits through conditioning or we can develop consciously through our awareness and choices.
To think of each other as solid entities and sources of happiness kills love. To each be who they are moment to moment, and feel the light of love in the sharing of spcae and time is the real gift. But we cannot take this for granted. It requires honesty with ourselves, not just each other. It requires openess to be maintained through practice.
To a great extent, labelling love and trying to disect it for rational understanding does little for the world. To open oneself to feel love naturally without judgement or boundaries is pure bliss, a connection to the Divine in our own hearts. Love is such ecstacy, that it is easy to become attached to it, that is, selfish and fearful. There is a real poverty mindset towards love in our culture. So when we feel it, we can automatically become afraid to lose it. That egoic attachment and fear is exactly what destroys love. It wants to control, it is jealous, it is attached to the high.
Starting fresh in each moment by being present, we can enjoy love fully. We can worry less about "how long will it last?" and instead just delight in it. By being our Self as honestly and courageously as possible in each moment, we can continue to love and feel loved just by being alive. The gift of love becomes omnipresent. The fear can disappear. We are new and open in each moment to the love that arises from within.
To think of each other as solid entities and sources of happiness kills love. To each be who they are moment to moment, and feel the light of love in the sharing of spcae and time is the real gift. But we cannot take this for granted. It requires honesty with ourselves, not just each other. It requires openess to be maintained through practice.
To a great extent, labelling love and trying to disect it for rational understanding does little for the world. To open oneself to feel love naturally without judgement or boundaries is pure bliss, a connection to the Divine in our own hearts. Love is such ecstacy, that it is easy to become attached to it, that is, selfish and fearful. There is a real poverty mindset towards love in our culture. So when we feel it, we can automatically become afraid to lose it. That egoic attachment and fear is exactly what destroys love. It wants to control, it is jealous, it is attached to the high.
Starting fresh in each moment by being present, we can enjoy love fully. We can worry less about "how long will it last?" and instead just delight in it. By being our Self as honestly and courageously as possible in each moment, we can continue to love and feel loved just by being alive. The gift of love becomes omnipresent. The fear can disappear. We are new and open in each moment to the love that arises from within.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
December Teaching: Starting Fresh
When we meditate, we are clearing the slate of our mind, habits, and views. We can come out of each session fresh and new, and
consciously choose how to act, think, be. We do not have to act in accordance with the habitual personality that we have created or fallen into. To do so (blindly
follow the habits/personality) is to let conditioned beliefs, inherited ideas, stale views and patterns that cause discontent to rule us. Whatever habits or patterns
are conscious and leave us feeling spiritually peaceful, content, loving, and generous are likely the ones we should keep. Resentment, jealousy, inadequacy, drama,
anger, and judgement are some of the patterns we should let fall away, no matter how well we can make excuses to justify them.
Every moment is a moment that we can
start fresh in. It just takes self-control to resist the hard pull of our habits. Coming out of our old comfort zone can be frightening, but nothing can be more truly
liberating. In fact, if we do not venture into new territory, starting anew every moment, we can never be liberated or live life fully. We are responsible for our own
life's bhava, or tone. Set the tone, and all will follow. --from enlightenamsterdam.com
consciously choose how to act, think, be. We do not have to act in accordance with the habitual personality that we have created or fallen into. To do so (blindly
follow the habits/personality) is to let conditioned beliefs, inherited ideas, stale views and patterns that cause discontent to rule us. Whatever habits or patterns
are conscious and leave us feeling spiritually peaceful, content, loving, and generous are likely the ones we should keep. Resentment, jealousy, inadequacy, drama,
anger, and judgement are some of the patterns we should let fall away, no matter how well we can make excuses to justify them.
Every moment is a moment that we can
start fresh in. It just takes self-control to resist the hard pull of our habits. Coming out of our old comfort zone can be frightening, but nothing can be more truly
liberating. In fact, if we do not venture into new territory, starting anew every moment, we can never be liberated or live life fully. We are responsible for our own
life's bhava, or tone. Set the tone, and all will follow. --from enlightenamsterdam.com
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