Remember To Be Silent

When life throws a curve ball

And you don’t know what to do

Remember to be silent

 

When life is full of joy

And you laugh and smile

Remember to be silent

 

When tears stream down your face

And you are filled with despair

Remember to be silent

 

When life is busy with families and work

And you have no time to turn around

Remember to be silent

 

When the sun rises over the mountains

And the sky is filled with light

Remember to be silent

 

When a fragrant rose opens its silky petals

And morning dew hangs on its leaves

Remember to be silent

 

When the stars twinkle in the night

And comets streak across the sky

Remember to be silent

 

No matter what happens in this life

Remember to be silent

Become A Smile Millionaire

How often do we smile? Smiling is an outward expression of inner joy and happiness. We tend to smile when we see the innocence of a baby or when we see or hear something funny, but true happiness comes from within. It’s the energy in the second chakra just below the navel. So what makes us happy? Many of us look to external desires to make us happy. We want more money, better health, expensive vacations. But fulfilling external desires are fleeting. Once we obtain those desires, we are hungry again for other external desires. So why do we waste our time and effort on fleeting happiness? It’s our unruly egos. Our ego makes us think that these external desires will bring us happiness. We smile for a while then noticed that we are once again not satisfied. We want more.

So does that mean that all desires are bad or fleeting? No. Spiritual desires, like a desire to know Spirit more deeply through meditation is a desire that comes from a yearning for inner joy and happiness. When the mind and ego are quiet, we begin to feel that sense of inner joy and happiness. Then without effort, we notice ourselves smiling more frequently. And when we smile, we notice others smiling back. We become more attractive when we smile. Our stress level decreases. When we smile, we notice ourselves laughing more which boosts our immune system. Smiling just feels good. So what are we waiting for? Let’s all become Smile Millionaires.

Namaste

Crisis and Awareness

Have you experienced a major crisis in your life? Many of us have – the loss of a loved one, a major illness, a breakup or divorce, the collapse of a business or some other situation that makes us feel powerless.

Gary Zukov in his book “The Seat of the Soul,” writes “Awareness first enters into an unaware personality through crisis. When the personality is not attached to, or is apart from, clear soul energy, it becomes seduced into the physical matterness of life. That always results in a personality crisis because the necessary strength and guidance that are meant to flow into the personality have been cut off. The personality that is unaware of, or denies the existence of, its higher sources of wisdom cannot draw upon its guidance, its intuition, or any of the guiding mechanisms of our species. Therefore, crisis results.”

As we look back on our lives, can we recall that personal crisis and remember how we reacted? Were we identified with our personality or ego-self? Did we suffer physical or emotional pain? That’s being identified with the ego. Or, did we go within to our higher self and accept the crisis as part of the grand plan of the Divine? Acceptance at these times is tough, yet that is when we are connected with our Soul.

I’ve had several crises in my life and with each one, I learned more and more about my True Self. I learned that I am not alone when faced with major life challenges. I learned that the crisis was not all about me it was an opportunity to learn how to be a better human being, an opportunity to be more loving, more accepting, more giving. I’m not saying that once we get in touch with our True Self we no longer have crises. On the contrary, crises continue throughout life. What I am finding is that when these times come, I can face the challenges with more calm, grace and acceptance. I can step back and look at the situation without the drama and thereby make rational decisions on how to manage the crisis. And this calmness comes through meditation.

So take a look at the crises in your life. Do you struggle through them with emotional and physical upset or do you take the opportunity to learn from them, to become more aware of your True Self.

Namaste

Earth School

I’m currently reading Gary Zukov’s “The Seat of the Soul.” I’ve had several Ah-ha moments while reading. This one struck a cord today. “From the perception of the multisensory human (one who lives consciously), the physical world is a learning environment that is created jointly by the souls that share it, and everything that occurs within it serves their learning.”

In recent years I’ve been very aware that our learning in not confined to the classrooms of elementary, high school, and college. We continue to learn our entire lives. However, the content of that learning changes over time. There’s book learning and then there’s soul learning – our spiritual progress.

How we go about our spiritual progress is different for everyone, but spiritual progress is really about overcoming temptations and addictions of the senses in order to live from the heart. Can we use our willpower to overcome material desire and not be attached to persons, places, and things? Can we let go of anger and hate and be more loving? Can we change from being dishonest, mean or destructive and learn to be good, honest and giving? Can we stop eating unhealthy foods and develop healthy eating habits? Can we let go of judging others and ourselves and be more accepting? Can we let go of laziness and be more active for our good and the good of others? Can we remember the importance of connecting with our Higher Self and develop a habit of regular meditation?

We were all born on this Earth for a purpose. Our life purpose might seem to be related to a particular career but digging deeper, our souls want to grow. Our soul has a purpose on this Earth. So how are we cultivating that growth? Are we paying attention and doing our best to overcome temptations and addictions of our senses? Are we living consciously from the heart?

Namaste

Choose Happiness

Everyone has one of those days. We wake up feeling less than bubbly. What do we do? We have a choice – a choice to walk around moping or complaining about the day or walking around being happy. So how do we get past the negativity and choose happiness? I tend to have my own bag of tricks, but what makes one person happy may not be what makes another person smile. So here are some activities that elevate my happiness.

*     Meditate. Even 10-15 minutes of focusing on the breath brings happiness and relaxation.

*     Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Really be aware of the taste and relaxation it brings.

*    Listen to upbeat music. It doesn’t need to be any particular genre, just something to get our toe tapping or put a smile on our face.

*     Exercise. Again, it doesn’t matter what kind of exercise. Just move. Walk, run, dance, swim, or lift weights. Get those endorphins moving.

*     Smile. Smile at yourself in the mirror and smile at everyone on the street.

*     Do something that brings joy to the heart. Got a hobby? Spend a few minutes or a few hours a day doing something just for the fun of it.

*     Write. Journaling can be cathartic. Sometimes we just need to get the negativity out of our system before we can think more positively.

So what elevates your happiness?

Namaste

Love Is …

Love Is …

Love is a deep breath

An open heart

A smile of ever-new joy

Love is all there is

So why look for something more

When it’s right inside of you

Love is Right Here and Right Now

We are loving this

Love is a Soul Hero

Loving everything all the time

It’s heart opening

Divine mother

Love is this Present Moment

A beloved heart

And deep peace.

Love is Healing light

Ever New Joy

Spirit Bliss

Love is everywhere

And in everything

Love is Divine Oneness

Loving Surrender

Happiness

Love is Kindness

Authentic

And Stillness

Love is Peace

Trust

And Acceptance

Love is Self Compassion

Joy

And Soul Bliss

Namaste

We are not the Doer

Yesterday, I mentioned that one of the levels of consciousness is the realization that we are not the doer. If we are not the ones doing all the things on our schedule, than who is? Who Am I?

At the end of my yoga classes I go into stillness and I ask everyone to take a moment to acknowledge their bodies, especially their organs. Offering an attitude of gratitude and appreciation for the miracle that is our body. This morning in meditation I was focused on the breath and then my mind quieted. In that moment, I noticed that air continued to flow in and out of my nostrils. There was no effort on my part; my body was breathing itself. Then I felt energy within me. That energy was breathing me. That energy was prana or Divine Mother. I like to think of Divine Mother nurturing all of creation.

We humans don’t pay much attention to the miracle of the body until it gets sick or diseased. Then we go to the doctor and try to fix it. But it occurred to me that maybe our illness and disease arise from our lack of attention to our body in the first place. If we don’t eat healthy foods, our bodies don’t get the proper nutrition and eventually they start talking back to us in the form of illness and disease. If we aren’t careful about what we are taking in through our eyes or our ears, our emotions aren’t getting the proper nurturing and eventually we become angry, fearful, judgmental, and doubtful. Eventually our bodies talk back to us by developing mental illnesses. So it seems as though we are the creators of our own situations. That makes us pretty powerful beings.

And if that is so, we can reverse our situations through our free will. I can already hear the naysayers. I’ve tried to diet for years and the weight just keeps coming back. I know I’m right and the other person is wrong, I am just standing up for my convictions. To those people I say go within. Be still. Feel the creative power within.

As yogis we strive to be unattached to the outcomes of everyday life. Yet there are paradoxes in life. How can we accomplish something and be unattached at the same time? The key may be found in the result. Have a goal in mind, but allow that goal to unfold on it’s own. Some say allow Spirit to guide the way. Maybe just maybe Spirit has a better outcome in mind for you. And maybe that illness or disease is there to teach us something. Go within.

So I’d like to end today with a mantra. Your will Spirit, not mine. Be still. We are not the doer in the play we call life. Allow Spirit to guide our way.

Namaste

Wisdom

What is Wisdom? Are we wise when we finally get a college degree? I’ve often heard the saying “Wisdom comes with age.” Does that mean when you age you automatically become wise? I think not.

I happened to open the Yoga Sutras today to the topic of Wisdom. Here, Patanjali defines Wisdom as seven levels of consciousness.

1. Wisdom isn’t found outside of us. In order to gain wisdom, we must look within and get to know ourselves. Turning inside means turning the senses within, hearing sounds within us, seeing light within us, smelling scents within us. This is done through meditation.
2. Understand that all experiences of pleasure and pain don’t come from outside of us but are our own mind interpreting that pleasure and pain.
3. Once you understand your mind completely and have a neutral mind, cosmic understanding comes. This understanding comes from within us, not through books.
4. Understand nature and it’s workings. We understand that whatever we do is part of the cosmic plan. We are not the doer. The Infinite is the doer.
5. The after-effect of the fourth level of consciousness once we know we are not the doer, the mind is free of impressions.
6. The mind gets dissolved.
7. The highest state of Samadhi is attained. The Bhagavad Gita describes it as “Beholding the Self by the Self, one is satisfied in the Self.”

I tried to take the words I was reading into my heart and write a sentence that intuitively made sense to me. I do not profess to be a scholar, so if this interpretation is different that someone else, I bow to your wisdom. I continue to work on going within to know myself. But the reason for this discourse on Wisdom is to understand the goal of the Yogic path. We may say we are One, but are we really at that stage of consciousness to experience the Oneness?

My yoga teacher, Tom Kelly, sings a wonderful song with the answer to that question. “And one day soon I will melt again into ever-new, ever-new, ever-new, Joy.” One day we will merge with the Infinite. That is the ultimate goal of the Yogic path.

Namaste

Spiritual Growth is Like a Rose

It’s amazing what nature can teach us. I was gazing at a long stemmed Red Rose today and began thinking of my Spiritual Growth. When I began my journey, I was nothing more than a tight ball, unable or unwilling to open to the fullness of life. A yoga practice gave me the opportunity to grow.

I began my yoga practice with asana classes. The classes allowed me to stretch my body in ways I hadn’t before. I was fortunate to have yoga teachers who themselves led spiritual lives. Their yoga classes embodied the first four steps of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: Yamas, Niyamas, asana and pranayama. A short discourse on non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, abstinence, non-greed, purity, contentment, not causing pain, spiritual study and surrender opened each class. It amazed me that no matter what class I attended, it seemed that the teacher was speaking directly to me. Yes, I needed to practice truthfulness, open my heart to loving what is and let go of expectations. How did he know?

As the months and years rolled by, that tight rose bud began to open, petal by petal. As the vibrant red of the rose became visible, my true self began to emerge. I began to attend yoga workshops and retreats, sipping the nectar of awareness. Mantra and chanting took the place of rock, jazz and pop music. Years later, I attended my first yoga teacher training. I began to smell the scent of the rose. Asana and meditation became a daily practice. I began reading the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita. The words of these Holy Scriptures were difficult to understand, but with each reading, the truth began to reveal itself. I continued attending retreats and additional yoga teacher training.

Throughout this time I’d feel as if I was accomplishing a deeper awareness of my true self. At other times, events swirling around me plunged me to despair. I continued to let go of things that no longer served my true self. As time went on, I noticed that outside influences didn’t have as much of an affect on me. I changed yoga teachers, practiced different meditation and pranayama. Now the outside petals of the rose are turning back. The inner petals are awakening to the sun.

As I gaze at those inner petals, I realize that I remain a child in my spiritual growth. Yes, in some ways I may have traveled far, but there is so much more to experience, so much more to surrender, so much more to be grateful for, so much more to love.

I invite everyone reading these words to take a moment and reflect on your own spiritual journey.

Namaste

Meditation Is …

Meditation is the continuous flow of awareness without distraction

A stream flowing into a river without obstruction

Water flowing from a faucet that never stops

 

Meditation is a wave-less lake in the early morning

A constant hum of OM

Unending stillness in the desert

 

Meditation is a focused attention on an object

A fixed mind

A steady communication with the Divine

 

Meditation is the conscious loss of time and space

A forgotten body

Transcending the senses

 

Meditation is beautiful light

Astral sounds

Inner Peace

 

Namaste