You can interpret this quote in many different ways. Thats a given.  For me, it reeks of acceptance combined with the simple  act of letting go. Interpretation is derived from experience and how you are presently living out your life. That which/whom makes you smile, angry, envious, inspired, resentful, etc acts simultaneously as the source for interpretation. Perhaps you read this quote in a time of despair, filling you with hope and yearning to discover the truth and Light that settles around you, yet delays in touching and overtaking you. For me, I read this in a time of transition (as always) and discovery. Quotes like these are constant reminders of what I am trying to cultivate in myself (acceptance) and how im trying to relate to this world (by letting go… of expectations and fear).

http://planningtothepeople.blogspot.com/

“Consciousness settles as one radiates friendliness, compassion, delight, and equanimity toward all things, whether pleasant, unpleasant, good, or bad.”

The Four Agreements- Don Miguel Ruiz. I was fortunate enough to listen to Don Miguel's son speak the other day. The timeless teachings of Don Miguel are encapsulated in this book that has acted as my bible, so to speak, for the past year. At any point where my life seems to have been rocked, I revert to this little diddy. The Four Agreements asks you to consider making four simple vows to yourself to help stabilize and harness individual happiness: be impeccable with your word; Don't make assumptions; always do your best; and, Don't take anything personally.

In my research yesterday, I came across a natural hazard that I wasnt entirely familiar with- Soil Liquefaction. In short, it is when a considerably stable surface is made less sturdy by the applied stress from say, an earthquake for example. At this point, the once solid foundation (soil, for example) takes on the properties of a liquid, therefore effecting the structure and natural environment around it. Interesting, a once solid structure temporarily imbalanced in the presence of stress and pressure.

Just as this is a natural phenomena affecting both the built and natural environment, it is also inherent in the human realm. It is natural (and at times, humbling) to get punched in the metaphorical stomach; to have our foundation rocked, so to say. We must continually remind ourselves that the paths we take in our day to day lives are never paved and the obstacles and seemingly negative occurences that lay within our paths are not dilatory but are rather didactic, in nature. Though these riffs in relationships, career setbacks, or whatever it may be–these happennings exist to test our natural and innate foundation much like the earthquake that rocks the topsoil of seemingly stable structures.

In times of these personal “earthquakes”, we must make sure to revert to and honor the things that maintain our steady internal and emotional infrastructure. Whether it be yoga, meditation, nutrition, running, writing, massages…hell, retail therapy, indulge and never deprive yourself of that which nourishes you. These things,  I call, my vitamins. Without my yoga, writing, meditation, surfing, all of that jazz, I could run myself down to oblivion.  It is entirely too easy to fall without grace and allow those obstacles to become brick walls.

“Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment,
are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment.
There is a hidden meaning behind all events,
and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution.”
-Deepak Chopra”

This picture just makes me happy; it has nothing to do with the post. I was merely just listening to him as I was writing ∞∞

A mentor of mine once said to me “you know that yoga is really reaching you when your personal relationships start changing…for the better”. Up until hearing that, yoga, for me, was a solo endeavour. Yoga gave me space; cleared my mind; made me both physically and mentally stronger. Good lord, with all of the me, my’s, and mine’s, how could there be any room left over for anything but the ego?

Yoga is experiential, yes. It is a canvas to articulate one’s own truth and findings, no doubt. Yet asana and philosophy arent just for thy self–they are tools utilized to help connect with others on a level of understanding, compassion, and truth. Just as our practice changes from day-to-day, so does our relationships with others, and furthermore, their relationships with themselves. Removing oneself from reactivity, but rather relating on a level of understanding, yoga has sustained the intangible thread that melds us all together. Ironically, that thread is the commonality of universal difference.  How often do we react off of our own personal emotions alone; how often do we judge people based on our own conditioning and upbringing; how often do we scratch the surface to attempt to build a connection before fabricating our own stories, beliefs, and judgements? Through having compassion for our own selves, bodies, and states of mind we develop a new sensatory system of our own that allows individual acceptance to bleed to the universal. 

But isn’t yoga about developing a personal practice? Yes. Here lies another seemingly dualistic quality of our practice. Yoga is a balance. The Hatha branch, a sect of Tantric yoga is the balance between the moon and the sun; of light and dark; it is your metaphoric peanut butter to your jelly (awful reference– I’m le tired!). In yogic principle, the front portion of your body (your face, your front ribcage, your thighs, heartspace, etc) is the individual body. Your back body (buttocks, calves, heels, backspace of your heart, etc) is the universal body. Yoga practice helps align the individual with the universal and is an ever-constant battle not to let one body take preference over the other. Marinate on that!

A meditation I like to play with. Repeat as needed, yo.

Waking this morning, I smile,

A brand-new day is before me.

I aspire to live each moment mindfully,

And to look upon all beings

With the eyes of kindness and compassion.

May you, and all other beings, be happy and free from suffering.

So, why, with all of these things that I had to get done, did I leave work and head for a lunchtime yoga sesh? Well, simply, I forgot what it was like to be present–I needed to be reminded of the balance I so seek. When I’m in class and on my mat, it is as if I am confined in a most pleasant jail cell that I so willingly put myself in and will most-willingly stay in until I am ready to leave.  I reconnect with time for just an hour.  I remind myself that ironically, as I am letting minutes pass before myself, those things that I need to get done, will, in fact, get done. Breathing sure helps the process, sure. Faith in one’s abilities to accomplish tasks, is also instrumental, yes. But also, something that I must remind myself of constantly of, I must stay in the present to mindfully accomplish that which is before me. Oftentimes, I find myself trying to double, triple and quadruple task– allowing moments to grasp at every single ounce of my concentration spreading my energy and awareness thin, thin, thin.  If I stay present with the company around me, the task before me, and the environment around me- I mindfully stay in the moment and allow for 100% of my energy to go into whatever I am doing, whomever I am talking to, and whatever I am experiencing around me. I like it better that way. And I’m mindfull trying to be more mindful. Nice!

Mindful action. It is a difficult thing to experience. Mindful eating. Mindfully reading a book. Mindfully engaged in a conversation. Mindfully listening. I often lose sight of such action but it is somewhat easy to come back to. Try mindfully eating a Hershey kiss. Allow for yourself to experience just gazing and appreciating the tiny parcel of chocolate in your palm. Allow yourself to consciously unwrap the little guy and shed him of his tin foil robe. Mindfully place said Hershey on your tongue and allow the chocaletly sensation to overtake your pallet. Nothing else matters in the moment except for that taste; that smell; those sensations that arise. Follow the Hershey kiss from mastication to processing as the kiss slides down the back of the throat passing each compartment of the throat and abdomen. Marinate in what has just occurred. Mindful action.