Stillness is …

Stillness is a quiet morning

It is watching the sunrise over the mountains

And warm rays of sun as it hits the skin

 

Stillness is a pond without ripples

It is the clear reflection of objects in the water

And the calmness of the breath

 

Stillness is a hummingbird resting on a nearby branch

It is the sweet bird song in the palm tree overhead

And the scent of the dry desert

 

Stillness is the absence of a breeze

It is a cloudless sky

And a cat sleeping under the canopy

 

Stillness is the ego reflecting the Soul

It is concentration and meditation

And the slow constant beat of the heart

 

Stillness is a pair of hands folded in prayer

It is communion with the Divine

It is Soul united with Spirit

 

May your day be filled with stillness

Namaste

I Show Up. I Love. I Conquer.

I Show Up. I Love. I Conquer.  This is one of Tom Kelly’s favorite sayings in his yoga class.  It is such a powerful statement and encompasses so much meaning, but I’ll take a stab at what this means for me.

I Show Up.  Yes, we show up to a yoga class and that’s a big step all by itself, but it’s only an hour or hour and a half of the day.  For me, I Show Up means I show up to every moment of the day. I am present.  I have courage to face life, no matter what that is – sickness, health, death, work, or play.  I accept it all without judgment, worry, fear, anger, or resentment.  I Show Up.

I Love.  Yes, I love moving my body in a yoga class and sometimes the movements can be challenging, but I Love doing what I am capable of and am so grateful for my body and the ability to move.  Throughout the day, I Love means sending love to others who may be in pain, loving myself and my shortcomings, loving an illness I might be experiencing or my perfect health.  It means loving my job even when I am asked to do something I don’t like or want to do.  It means loving my surroundings and everything around me – the plants, trees, ocean, sky, family, friends, enemies – loving everything all the time.  I Love.

I Conquer.  Yes, in a yoga class, I can let go of my thoughts and concentrate on my breath. I can connect to my heart and soul and feel really good as I walk out of class.  But for me, I Conquer goes beyond the yoga mat. If I can conquer my thoughts in class, I can conquer my negative thoughts and emotions throughout the day. I can conquer doubt, worry, fear, anxiety, judgment and resentment.

Is it easy – no.  Is it possible – YES!  If I can remind myself to Show Up, Love, and Conquer.

So, are we all willing to give it a try? How will we Show Up, Love, and Conquer today?

What even more inspiration?  Follow Tom Kelly’s Blog: http://joyvibrations.wordpress.com/

Namaste

Ego Self vs. True Self

The first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita focuses on the inner psychological and spiritual battle that we go through by trying to control our senses.  While the Gita is written as an allegory, the story describes two opposing forces: our Ego Self and our True Self.

I’ve recently come to another ah-ha moment – how to identify when I am in my ego vs. living in my heart and allowing my true self to shine.  I’ve always had an emotional personality.  When I was younger, I expressed my emotions openly.  As I’ve aged, I’ve learned to control my outward expression of emotions a bit more.

My ah-ha moment came when I began to notice some negative emotions surfacing in my gut that in turn got my mind replaying a past conversation like an old vinyl record that keeps skipping.  I am sure we’ve all been there and done that.  Suddenly a thought arose – ah, this is my ego self.  I’m no longer in the present moment.  I’m rehashing the past, the past that’s already gone and I can’t do a darn thing about.  Once that realization occurred, I focused my mind on cooking.  Preparing a meal with love, knowing I am going to share it with another person opens my heart to love.  After a while, my mind let go of the broken recording and I found myself smiling and feeling joyful.  Ah-ha, this is my True Self.

Each of use has an Ego Self and a True Self.  The question to continually ask ourselves is – What Self am I today?  What Self am I in this moment?

Namaste

Thoughts

One thing we as humans do a lot of is think.  From the time we wake up in the morning to the time we go to sleep we are constantly thinking.  These thoughts can be positive or negative, and what we think depends on us and on our environment.

In yoga the term pratipaksha bhavana means when we are plagued by negative thoughts, we should cultivate positive ones in its place.  Now, that is not always easy to do, but the Yoga Sutras give us a few hints on how to turn our thoughts around.

When a negative thought pops up in our heads, we can notice the negative thought and try to think of its opposite.  For example, if we think I hate seeing the violence around the world, think instead of sending love to all the parts of the world suffering from wars.  If we think why am I plagued with this illness, instead think what can I learn from this illness.  Subtle shifts in thought can make a big difference.

It’s hard to keep positive thoughts while in a negative environment.  If we find ourselves involved in an argument with someone, it’s better to walk away and calm down rather than to continue the argument and more than likely say something we later regret.

As humans, we need to control our thoughts so that we can experience more peace, joy, and love in our lives.  So let’s watch our thoughts.  If a negative thought surfaces, let’s cultivate an opposite positive thought in its place.  And may that awareness bring us all peace of mind.

Namaste