Resolutions

Our grandson, Wynn, 14 1/2 months, dressed for Easter.

Many people make resolutions at the beginning of the year….January 1st. I’ve chosen March 1st as my own new year and a time for making resolutions, although I don’t make them all at once. That would just be too overwhelming. So, I’ve decided to try making a new one at the beginning of each month.

March seems like a good time. It is nearing Spring when everything comes to life, hopefully myself as well. And, I am just not a cold season person.

On March 1st I started with yoga. I vowed to do it everyday, a full routine, as best as I could, and not worry about the actual time I spend doing it. In other words if my full yoga session which for me is an array of various sitting and standing poses happens to result in 35 minutes or one hour, it is okay, as long as I do my best in the poses. I would term this resolution successful thus far, even through various schedule changes in which I could have made excuses. We began March 1st traveling to see our daughter, son-in-law and grandson, a glorious start to the month of March. Traveling can make resolutions difficult.

Now, on April 1st, I vow to walk, hike or do the elliptical each day. I haven’t really thought as of yet whether I should say I should walk 3 miles per day or for a certain time each day as of yet. Later I will get out there and just follow my instinct. If it should happen to rain I will get on the elliptical and follow my gut as well. In the wintertime I neglect my trail. I prefer to be enveloped by the lush greenness rather than be exposed through the barren tree limbs. That probably says something psychologically about me.

April 1st also started out on a good note. For Easter weekend our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were here. They left for home this morning. Before leaving for work, my husband told me I was a good grandma!

My overall goal is balance in all things.

Yoga Wish List

This is today’s drawing. This pose is on my yoga wish list to learn. I might as well add sculpted arms and a skinny body to this wish list.

Yoga & Yogananda

“God Talks With Arjuna – The Bhagavad Gita” Paramahansa Yogananda

Chapter IV The Supreme Science of Knowing God, The Historical Basis and Esoteric Essence of Yoga

Verse 3 – I have this day informed thee about that same ancient yoga, for thou art My devotee and friend. This sacred mystery (of yoga) is, indeed, the producer of supreme benefit (to manhood).

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I wrote this in February of 2010: Today has been a dream realized. We visited SRF – Self Realization Fellowship, the international headquarters in Los Angeles. I can’t describe the emotions. There was an aura of love permeating the grounds. We sat in the meditation room awaiting a guide. Over the altar were pictures of Babajii, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteshwar, Jesus, Krishna, and Paramahamsa Yogananda.

A nun greeted us and gave us a personal tour, telling us a little about the history of the building and pointing out some of Yogananda’s personal possessions. She took us to the meditation areas on the grounds. The view was breathtaking.

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Love

Love might be one of the most overused words in the English language as well as the most misunderstood. It can span the scale from 0 to 10 in actual meaning. One might say I love pizza, and then there is waiting for that special someone to say those three words, “I love you.”

It can be centered on giving or receiving. It can be needy. It can be conditional or unconditional. It can be bought. It can be true. It can be deep. It can be shallow. It can even be a tennis score. In writing this I am reminded of one of George Carlin’s monologues.

The meaning of this four-letter word can be so broad that one can question if it even has meaning at all? This one single word really encompasses too much and I feel it needs an offshoot of words with its own dictionary.

The Greeks had four words for love:

Agape – In Modern Greek it means brotherly love. In more ancient times it referred to a true, deep, or sacrificial love. It can also be referred to as a divine love or God’s love. It can mean the highest and purest form of love.

Eros – This type of love is sensual and passionate, although it may not necessarily be sexual. Nevertheless, it is more intimate in nature. Its name is taken from the Greek god Eros, from whence the word erotic comes. Cupid is another form of the god’s name, generally depicted as the second Eros, or his son.

It can refer to beauty or an appreciation of beauty such as physical attraction, but is not necessary in this type of love. Plato used the term platonic to refer to love without physical attraction. Platonic love is a love on a deeper level – the level of the soul and delves into the spiritual aspect.

Philia – Philia means friendship in Modern Greek. This love is virtuous and involves loyalty to friends, family and community, a concept developed by Aristotle.

Storge – Storge means “affection” in ancient and Modern Greek. It is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Rarely used in ancient works, and then almost exclusively as a descriptor of relationships within the family.

Yoga, meaning to yoke to God, is varied and broad in its many branches and definitely takes in the meaning of love. Under the ancient Indian tradition of yoga, Bhakti yoga is based on the doctrine that love is God and God is love. All else is meaningless. Earthly attachments with their lower forms of love are meaningless. Bhakti yoga is the most direct method to experience the divine. In perfection of this yoga all becomes one, knower and known, subject and object, deity and devotee.

“Giving love to all,  feeling the love of God,  seeing His presence in everyone… that is the way to live in this world.” Parahamansa Yogananda

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Lao Tzu

1 Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter of the Bible.

1 If I speak in the tonguesof men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I believe that love is God’s glue, and actually is and is not separate from God. It is that which holds all that is together. It is the bliss and joy that mystics have experienced and that cannot be described in mere words. Perhaps the closest earthly experience we may have of it is of “being in love.” It’s an experience that usually fades and is not considered the norm. I really think that “being in love” feeling should be the constant and the norm – a continuous ecstasy of spirit. The poetry of Rumi to me most exemplifies this. Rumi could be quoted all day on love, but I will end with this:

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Jalal ad-Din Rumi

I am thankful for the brief encounters I’ve had with that blissful love one would term Bhakti.

Exploring Mystic India

From the film

I needed some uplifting tonight. We watched the film, “Mystic India.” I’m fascinated by yogis, those who are truly advanced souls. I think they come in many forms, some that we would least expect. I suspect sometimes there are many homeless, as well as people who have suffered incredible life traumas and emerge with incredible inspiration for those they come in contact with, who are such yogis.

India, especially in the region of the Himalaya Mountains, is the land which one thinks of when you hear the word yogi. These highest elevations in the world are said to hold ancient and hidden mystical wisdom and secrets. Some have trekked their way through these high peaks on a journey towards their own elevated spirituality and enlightenment.

This film only touches upon the many wondrous possibilities this region has to offer, as you trace the route taken by one young yogi in his own journey of self-realization. On June 29, 1792, Neelkanth at age eleven left home and took on the harshest elements, barefoot, minimally clothed, and alone to discover enlightenment on an 8,000-mile journey that spanned seven years. He endured freezing temperatures and wild animals, visited temples, exploring the diversity of India, while sharing his unique wisdom along the way with those he encountered. He would later be known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

For further reading:
http://www.mysticindia.com/index.htm

http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.com/2008/10/teen-yogi-in-imaxs-mystic-india.html

http://www.swaminarayan.org/lordswaminarayan/biography/2.htm

The film is beautifully done with vivid colors, rituals, and architecture that only India has to offer.

So, tonight, I’m thankful for this inspiration.

Living in the Present

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

It’s nearly 1 PM. I’ve been filling up on chai, like most fill up on coffee – no breakfast, no lunch as of yet. I’ve been bustling around trying to get somewhat organized in preparation for a trip. My organizational skills have simply slumped since menopause. Right now, though, I am trying to take some time to relax and be in the moment.

The upcoming trip shall certainly give me time to be in the moment. The location is in the mountains. We are expected to observe silence for the most part. There will be hiking, meditation, yoga, and only vegetarian food cooked according to strict ayurvedic principles. There will be no cell phone reception and only one spot with internet capability. Therefore, blogging on a daily basis will more than likely not happen.

Right now I am thankful for this particular moment and will attempt to live only in the moment as much as possible for the continuations of the day.

Recipe For Success of the Spiritual Kind

Take in hand, Bowl of Clay, formed from the earth

Consciously pour

Edging

God

Out

Into and don’t let disperse

Dilute with pure pristine water

Swirl around with wood from forest tree

By hand of wind formed from air

Drip slowly into fire

To be engulfed by its ashes

Absorbed into the ether

Be still

In the emptiness of the bowl

Clarity see

And melt into the healing vibration of om

In a writing group I’m in we were given a writing assignment of pouring ourselves into a bowl that is our world. Thoughts about this assignment, as with all ideas, come in pieces to me. This particular one came about through a succession of synchronicity.

This morning while doing yoga I was listening to Explore Your Spirit With Kala, and thinking at the same time about the bowl assignment. The guest, Eldon Taylor, began to discuss ego. I thought about throwing ego into my bowl, and began thinking about something I had heard Wayne Dyer say, that ego means to edge God out. I thought I must use that. A minute later the guest used the same phrase, to which I couldn’t help by shouting out, “Whoa,” thinking, an added synchronicity.

Doing upward facing dog, I looked up to see a bowl we had bought at a mall months earlier (pictured). This is my singing bowl, made from various alloys, the other element, metal, also coming from the earth. I wasn’t really interested in shopping that day, but I remember telling my husband how thankful we stumbled upon the Tibetan singing bowl that day. Brightly woven cloth from llamas drew me into the kiosk, but discovering the lone bowl was the prize.

As I began the writing process, I was spurred along by the wind outside, another element – air. And, that’s how it came to pass.

A Moment of Clarity

My pre-teenage daughter and I were walking back from the beach mid-afternoon through the over commercialized touristy section of Virginia Beach. She wanted to go into one of the many t-shirt, beach towel shops along the way. So we went in.

There was a lady pushing a wheel chair. The body of the lady in the chair was twisted and mangled, and it was doubtful if her voice capacity was any more than a few singular syllable primal grunts. It was obvious that she was totally dependent on the caregiver that pushed her around.

It was one of those moments when you silently cried out to God or the universe with a repetition of whys. My plea must have been heard. Time seemed to come to a stop as the room seemed to separate into everyone else and myself and the lady in the wheelchair. Other than our two souls the remainder of the room overcrowded with shoppers and so much noise became a low whining buzz, as if barely audible around us. At that moment our eyes met, but more than our eyes, our souls met. There was a communication deeper than any words could ever convey. The woman in the chair in that horrible shell of a body spoke volumes in her message to me. She was an advanced soul volunteering her own self in this manner to teach compassion to her caregiver and all that encountered her. This revelation came with such a knowing. It was not a situation I broke down by any means of thought. So, there was a reason to atrocities such as this, at least in this case. The lady’s soul smiled on my own soul. All was a smile and compassion in that soulful world.

Suddenly, time began again, and the room returned to the state of reality we are accustomed to, or at least the dream we have conditioned ourselves to be in. There was again a high volume of noise and people pushing past each other, and the caregiver pushed the lady on.

That was nearly twenty years ago, but had such an impact. I’m thankful for moments of clarity, however, fleeting.

I was out most of the day yesterday. It was nearly midnight and as I was doing yoga, one of those moments of clarity flashed before my eyes, or third eye. I awoke at 4 AM and felt the same clarity in a different manner. I lay in bed for a solid hour in the comfort of that clarity before rising.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

I’m really not interested in getting the worm, mainly because I’m vegetarian; but I’m interested in getting better health and getting an earlier start. I read so many self-help books. However, reading and practicing their teachings are two different things. In an effort to cultivate better habits, I’ve slowly been making changes. In August I began a daily practice of yoga. This could be anywhere from twenty minutes to over an hour a day of yoga asanas. My original goal was to begin on August 1^st and surpass my previous non-interrupted daily practice of 120 days straight. I’m now at 200 days. Yay! – A subdued yay, as I don’t want to jinx it. Every day is still a challenge.

I’m now ready for the next challenge in what I hope will be a series of a cultivation of good habits. That is rising much earlier. Even though technically, we are approaching spring and days are getting longer, it seems that days are getting shorter. Maybe that is partly age with respect to me, but still I’ve heard people complain about time flying at a much faster rate than ever before. I could certainly use a head start on the day….a couple of extra hours. It is also said that the most successful people are early risers. Bad news for all those worms like me who have been slithering deep into the covers. Cold mornings and the gravitational pull of warm covers have been my excuse for too long.

In the wee hours of the morning before sunrise, the ether is mostly free of all the artificial electromagnetic forces that start when most people rise. Yogis say that this is the most auspicious and beneficial time for meditation I know this to be true from experience. The solar energy is rising. Meditation at this time is like catching a wave. It’s a clear time with fewer distractions both physically and ethereally. There is nothing to compare with the peace and quietude before sunrise. Catching this wave is like a surfer’s high that can get you through the day. Like anything, good habits first require a choice, then practice and more practice, and more practice, just like the yoga effort. Practice makes perfect.

Today, I’m thankful I tossed off the covers and met the day before sunrise. It was gloomy. I didn’t actually see the sunrise, but with practice I should have plenty of opportunities to see beautiful sunrises. I experienced a calming peace this morning, and right before noon, I feel like I’ve already had a full day, and still have energy.

Happy Year of the Rabbit

Tired of the snow, tired of the cold. Snow is certainly beautiful, and I could certainly tolerate it if it wasn’t for the cold that went along with it. January 1^st is celebrated as the New Year. Somehow, I just don’t feel the vibrations of a new year on January 1^st. I think I will hang my hat with the Chinese and choose February as a more likely candidate for New Year status, since it is closer to the spring warmth.

Yesterday marked the New Year, the year of the rabbit – the year of the metal rabbit to be more exact – according to the Chinese Zodiac. Somehow, that resonates more with me, as I awoke up more refreshed and ready for new beginnings. The sun is coming out as I write this. It’s been so long.

According to the Chinese years take on personalities. The personality of the rabbit is one of peace, kindness, gentleness, and merciful, loving beauty. Rabbits are family oriented, even though they want and need personal space, a personal space that will always be beautiful and comfortable. Rabbits are extremely sensitive, having very powerful emotions. They are intelligent, elegant, and hospitable. Quietly charismatic, thoughtful and calm, rabbits are admired for their tactful and considerate dealings with all who know them. As such, they are most often depended upon for their wise counsel, or as someone in which to put valued trust in a personal friendship or business dealing.

Metal gives Rabbits a more resilient demeanor than the other more quiet Rabbit. These Rabbits are very ambitious and can be quite crafty in their dealings with others. They throw themselves and their emotions into everything they do, making them intense lovers, but not outwardly affectionate lovers. Their determination can affect their work as well, whether through personal relationships with colleagues or with the work itself, a Rabbit can be known to immerse himself in his projects…business and personal.

My sister and I had pet rabbits when we were young. My dad built a rather large duplex apartment for them, similar to adjoining hotel rooms. It sat back from the house under a tree. I could watch them for hours.

Rabbits, being naturally into eating, socializing, and cuddling, need to incorporate forms of exercise in their daily routines. This can both strengthen them and help them deal with stress.

Yoga emulates nature, or does nature emulate yoga? Today is a good day to incorporate the rabbit pose into my routine. Benefits of the rabbit pose or sasangasna are: