So lets start with the small stuff today, why are we here, and what is our purpose? Yeah, right. But isn't that what we are all looking for, some direction to follow in which we give meaning to our seemingly painful, and mundane lives? We seem to strive for that moment when everything will fit together, the climax of our lives that will make everything easier and more worthwhile. Only that moment will never come. Life isn't about reaching a climax, it's a series of events, one after another, and no more meaning than you give it.
One of my dearest friends had expressed to me that they had a fear of being irrelevant, of not mattering. I think most of us can relate to this. We all want to feel like we are worthy of love, appreciation, and having a meaningful existence. I believe the fear itself is really a beautiful thing because it represents the desire to transcend into being more than we are and living a life with purpose.
The Buddha spoke of the "Heavenly Messengers," which consist of the basic truths of the human experience: we are all born, we will all get sick, we will all lose everything we love, we will all age, and we will all eventually die. Pretty sobering truths. However, I see these truths as a great hope. You see, these messengers are here to create the framework of our existence, it's what we do within that framework that gives our lives meaning. If we could grasp the magnitude of these messengers, we would be capable of seeing past the myopia of our own minds and lives and see the greater picture of what unites all of us together.There is such a huge opportunity for compassion, forgiveness, and love because there is so much loss. Life is hard, for all of us, so what can we do in our short lives that will matter? I guarantee it won't involve working more hours, or spending less time with those you love.
I too want to live a meaningful life, I want to matter, and I want to be relevant. What I am realizing is this: to live with meaning, we must give it one; to matter, others must matter to us; and to be relevant, is to be congruent with the person you are and the person you want to be. So here's what I'm trying: work less, play more, love always.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The divine children...
Last Friday I had a beautiful and mind blowing experience. I'll tell you, you might think I'm crazy, I thought I was crazy for a few moments, but it was the kind of crazy I wanted to stay. Forever.
It happened while I was teaching my noon hour corporate class. They are an amazing group consisting of varying ages and abilities and I have been lucky enough to teach them for the past year. The class itself started like any other, and then everything shifted as I was observing them in tree pose. All of them were working so hard to do their personal best, and suddenly as I was watching them, everything was different, as they almost seemed to change into what I could only describe as rainbows of light and colour. Each of them separate, unique, but intensely beautiful in their own way, and expressing this individual colour through their bodies in asana. It was wild. Then I noticed their actual bodies and realized that appearance of each physical self, is just an accident, it's just kind of what came out to support the non-physical self, and completely irrelevant to the spectacular rainbows of light that lay inside.
In those moments nothing had actually changed, but how I was seeing things had completely changed. I felt such an overflow of love for these individuals on such a deep level I fought back tears because I was so overcome by it. It was such a remarkable way to feel, and I wanted to hold on to it as long as possible, knowing that it would eventually pass. It was a challenge to find the balance of being in the experience while maintaining instruction of the class.
At the end during Shavasana, I always come around to each student and give them a small neck and head massage with a little personal blessing. This time as I looked at each face, I saw them each as the child they once were, and the child they continue to be, through the innocence that still lives inside us all. I felt such a loving nurturing energy come from me as I blessed and cared for each beautiful perfect soul. They gave more to me in those moments then they will ever know.
The moment has passed, and those feelings have dulled, but as a wise man once said to me "You can never not know something once you know." I now know that I was witnessing the truth of each of us, that we are all the divine child dancing in the beauty of our own light.
It happened while I was teaching my noon hour corporate class. They are an amazing group consisting of varying ages and abilities and I have been lucky enough to teach them for the past year. The class itself started like any other, and then everything shifted as I was observing them in tree pose. All of them were working so hard to do their personal best, and suddenly as I was watching them, everything was different, as they almost seemed to change into what I could only describe as rainbows of light and colour. Each of them separate, unique, but intensely beautiful in their own way, and expressing this individual colour through their bodies in asana. It was wild. Then I noticed their actual bodies and realized that appearance of each physical self, is just an accident, it's just kind of what came out to support the non-physical self, and completely irrelevant to the spectacular rainbows of light that lay inside.
In those moments nothing had actually changed, but how I was seeing things had completely changed. I felt such an overflow of love for these individuals on such a deep level I fought back tears because I was so overcome by it. It was such a remarkable way to feel, and I wanted to hold on to it as long as possible, knowing that it would eventually pass. It was a challenge to find the balance of being in the experience while maintaining instruction of the class.
At the end during Shavasana, I always come around to each student and give them a small neck and head massage with a little personal blessing. This time as I looked at each face, I saw them each as the child they once were, and the child they continue to be, through the innocence that still lives inside us all. I felt such a loving nurturing energy come from me as I blessed and cared for each beautiful perfect soul. They gave more to me in those moments then they will ever know.
The moment has passed, and those feelings have dulled, but as a wise man once said to me "You can never not know something once you know." I now know that I was witnessing the truth of each of us, that we are all the divine child dancing in the beauty of our own light.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Take a breath
Yogis often talk about breath being the center of practice. Whether it be asana (postures), or meditation (seated), each is based on focused breathing. So why so much focus on breath? It seems almost silly to focus on something as normal as breathing. I mean, we all do it, all of the time, and we don't even have to think about it. It just happens.
Exactly.
In 10,000 years our DNA has stayed virtually the same, yet our lives have changed drastically. We no longer live in caves, spear our food, or worry about dying during childbirth. Instead we have cell phones, 12 hour days, working weekends, television, email, podcasts, and a whole host of activities and responsibilities that in order to manage and function within the craziness of it all, are becoming numb.
I see it everywhere. We are becoming so numb to our actual lives that we are starting to become thrill seekers to feel alive. Movies and video games are becoming more violent and more real, TV shows are voyeuristic (I mean seriously, why aren't you living your own life instead of watching someone else's? Such a weird phenomenon), relationships are expendable once they lose their luster (you only need to look at divorce rates), we worship materialism like a god, and booze and drugs have become the most acceptable form of socializing because then you can really 'let loose' and 'be yourself.' Really, and no wonder, because how could we ever possibly feel alive when we don't even recognize that we are. That you are. Alive. Right now.
So yogis were on to something. Take a moment and just sit. Exactly as you are. Let your body relax, and let go of any tension so you can let go of any thoughts that are playing out and purely focus on your body and breath. Feel the weight of the air as it hovers right below your nostrils that moment before you draw it in through your nose (do you realize you are taking in a gas filled with tiny little particles into your body right now?), feel it expand into your lungs (it is now creating a chemical process in your body transforming gas into fuel to keep your body alive), and then feel the release of the breath out through the nose (your body discerned exactly what particles to use creating this reaction and released the rest as waste), before sending it back out into the universe around you. This simple process is really magic. Each breath is really a miracle. There are so many variables that need to occur to not only make this process happen, but possible all together.
Yogis believe that bringing awareness to breath and body are the gateway to the divine which dwells within each of us. While most of us are rushing to keep up with our busy lives, and trying to find things outside of ourselves to feel alive in the moment, yogis are drawing inward. We don't need to look outside ourselves for the answers, wisdom comes from within. So take a moment to sit, take a breath, and realize the miracle that you are. Alive.
Exactly.
In 10,000 years our DNA has stayed virtually the same, yet our lives have changed drastically. We no longer live in caves, spear our food, or worry about dying during childbirth. Instead we have cell phones, 12 hour days, working weekends, television, email, podcasts, and a whole host of activities and responsibilities that in order to manage and function within the craziness of it all, are becoming numb.
I see it everywhere. We are becoming so numb to our actual lives that we are starting to become thrill seekers to feel alive. Movies and video games are becoming more violent and more real, TV shows are voyeuristic (I mean seriously, why aren't you living your own life instead of watching someone else's? Such a weird phenomenon), relationships are expendable once they lose their luster (you only need to look at divorce rates), we worship materialism like a god, and booze and drugs have become the most acceptable form of socializing because then you can really 'let loose' and 'be yourself.' Really, and no wonder, because how could we ever possibly feel alive when we don't even recognize that we are. That you are. Alive. Right now.
So yogis were on to something. Take a moment and just sit. Exactly as you are. Let your body relax, and let go of any tension so you can let go of any thoughts that are playing out and purely focus on your body and breath. Feel the weight of the air as it hovers right below your nostrils that moment before you draw it in through your nose (do you realize you are taking in a gas filled with tiny little particles into your body right now?), feel it expand into your lungs (it is now creating a chemical process in your body transforming gas into fuel to keep your body alive), and then feel the release of the breath out through the nose (your body discerned exactly what particles to use creating this reaction and released the rest as waste), before sending it back out into the universe around you. This simple process is really magic. Each breath is really a miracle. There are so many variables that need to occur to not only make this process happen, but possible all together.
Yogis believe that bringing awareness to breath and body are the gateway to the divine which dwells within each of us. While most of us are rushing to keep up with our busy lives, and trying to find things outside of ourselves to feel alive in the moment, yogis are drawing inward. We don't need to look outside ourselves for the answers, wisdom comes from within. So take a moment to sit, take a breath, and realize the miracle that you are. Alive.
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