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

I Surrender

How many times in our lives have we reached a point where we just couldn’t take it any more and in exasperation said “I surrender”? We might be surrendering to an argument, surrendering to the outcome of a disease, or surrendering our mental burdens.  Surrender is nothing more than letting go of an attachment, an attachment to our point of view, an attachment to worry about our health, an attachment to whatever we fear of losing and giving it to God.

If we let go of the need to be right in an argument, then we wouldn’t get angry.  If we let go of our idea of what perfect health should be, then we wouldn’t be worried when we get sick.  If we let go of our attachment to this world, we wouldn’t be afraid of death. We don’t need to give away all our possessions to the poor we only need to learn how to be mentally detached from our possessions.  We just need to have the right attitude.

One of the Niyamas (observances) in the Yoga Sutras is Isvara Pranidhana, a surrender of everything to God or to humanity.  When I first read this passage, it seemed daunting. How can I surrender everything? But as I continued to read, the passage began to make sense.  If we let go of our mental attachments to things, we would have peace of mind. In the words of Sri Swami Satchidananda “Real Samadhi means tranquility of mind, which is possible only when we dedicate everything and are free from all attachments.”

So, is it time for an attitude adjustment? Are we ready to dedicate everything we do and everything we have to the world or to God?  If that seems too extreme, is there one thing we can surrender today?  And if possible, can we surrender one more thing tomorrow and the next day and the day after that?  And maybe one day we will have total peace of mind and experience Samadhi.

Namaste