Faith=Peace

I inhale and chant FAITH
I exhale and chant PEACE

When I have faith in the workings of the Universe and the unfoldment of my path, I can't be anything but peaceful.

Count Your Blessings!

I told my yoga clas on Friday, "We can all find SOMETHING to be grateful for." Every day I express gratitude for the (too many to count) blessings in my life. I've been having scary thoughts lately about my financial situation. We all can relate to that. I know with all my heart, mind, and soul that I will be okay. I always am, always have been, but the thoughts creep in and freak me out every now and again.

When you find yourself in these thoughts, don't dwell in this negative state, emitting this negative energy. Think of how rich your life truly is. Count your blessings, write them down. I'm certain you will be pleasantly surprised at how many awesome things you have to be grateful for! Then lift your heart toward the sky (open your heart! as we say in yoga) and say thank you!

Gratitude is a gift to everyone. Saint Paul said "Give thanks in ALL circumstances."

Faith!

‎"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Okay, so I'm a day late in honoring this amazing human being. He was certainly a sage...knowing and acknowledging that we're all created from the same divine source, the same fabric. We are all one.

I posted this on my FB page yesterday and felt compelled to talk about faith today. I still have my struggles with having faith. I guess it's because worry and control have been a part of my monkey mind for so many years. Has worrying ever changed the outcome of my life, my struggles, my challenges? NEVER! Did I find I worried needlessly and then had a good laugh at myself? YES!

When I stop, think, slow down, focus, I truly believe the universe is totally honorable. We ALWAYS get what we need...not necessarily what we think we want or what we recognize as what's best for us. We are totally supported and taken care of ALWAYS.

So let's take that first step together, blindly, nakedly, vulnerably, and trust that we will get to the top of the staircase in our unique way, in our own timeframe, with perfect results!

Yoga, Meditation, Chanting, Peace

A beautiful way to peace, stillness, and presence is through the practice of yoga, meditation and chanting. From all three of these practices comes a quieting of the mind. We race through life, running errands, doing (sometimes) meaningless chores, never stopping to rest and rejuvinate.

I have had several friends lately try one of my yoga classes or come to a yoga class with me, and now they are practicing regularly. They too have found a place to call home! A place where no other thoughts enter the mind. A place to be totally in your body and reconnecting with the true self, the perfect self. What a gift!

Meditation and chanting place the focus on the breath or a thought or phrase or mantra. Meditation and chanting ask us to let go of the constant chatter in the mind and sit quietly, peacefully and surrender. The energy and vibration that's created is stunning. It is truly palpable.

These are no easy tasks. They all take time and effort and dedication, but are so worth it. Make it a part of your day to start incorporating just one of the three into your life. You (and those around you) will start to notice a beautiful, peaceful glow surrounding you. I can't imagine anything more beautiful!

Ethics and Virtue

I am reading an amazing book called Essential Spirituality, which pulls from the World Religions spiritual thoughts and practices. There are gems on every single page! I am in the midst of reading about ethical living. Some of us were raised to live ethically out of fear and guilt, hellfire and damnation. Yikes! How motivating is that?

Basically ethical living just means being kind, compassionate and truthful...to yourself and others. What a gift! "What we do, we become." One woman in the book said that "stress may be as much a question of a compromise of values as it is external pressures and fears!"

Acting ethically can be a source of healing...we actually become a source of healing to others as well. What we intend for others we create for ourselves! According to the great religions,(I've noticed these in myself quite profoundly), the many gifts of ethical living include a greater capacity for openness, honesty and intimacy, a heart that is more open, kind and loving, confidence, strength, closer, kinder relationships, joy, the list is extensive.

I close with this beautiful quote: "When we give someone our love,"(of course we're talking about loving all beings, even those who have hurt us) "that same love first flowers within our minds and then overflows into others, leaving its healing imprint on both."

Fear

We cannot experience fear if we live in the present moment. Fear is always about the future, and the future does not exist. Only this moment exists. Everything else is made up in our imaginations! Right? False Experience Appearing Real! (FEAR)

"The true person sees what the eye sees and does not add to it something that is not there."~Chuang Tzu

If we shine the light on the darkness and ignorance, all that imagined fear shrivels up and dies. So be with the fear, look carefully at it, recognize it is not real, then begin to experience freedom from it! Fear not!

LOVE

Now that I have spent the last year and a half relearning how to love myself, I am truly astounded by how easy it is to love others and not judge. I am not talking about "romantic" love here. I am talking about unconditional love, respect, appreciation, gratitude for all beings, even the ones that are hard to love! Once I came to the realization that talking down to myself just wasn't working anymore (oh, and that it truly was all bullshit that I was saying to myself anyhow!!), it opened my eyes, my heart, and my mind to so much more.

I just spent 9 days with my parents and had a wholly different experience than ever before. The jugment, the criticism, the expectations just started to roll away. I finally can see them for the loving, giving, accepting parents that they are. We all are on the path, our paths all look different, but who are we to judge another's? We all are doing the best with what we have and what we know. I've said this numerous times, but everyone is our teacher. My parents teach me patience, acceptance, nonjudgment, and so much more. If not for them, I wouldn't even exist! Neither would Lily!

Check in with yourself...is it time for a lesson in love?

"Spiritual love has no desire to get but only to give, no goal except to awaken itself within others, no need except to share itself. Being unconditional, it never fails or falters. Being endless, it embraces everyone."

Intention

Intention has been on my mind...then 2 of my teachers blessed me with their thoughts on intention, so of course I had to share all of our thoughts bundled together!!

What do you intend for 2011? I first suggest saying thank you and goodbye to 2010. We must be grateful for the blessings, gifts, and lessons the year brought to our paths, and now we must let go. Otherwise, our intentions for 2011 will be fraught with disappointment as we needlessly hold onto the past.

Now set an intention for the coming year and open your heart and your mind to be in receipt of whatever graces your path. KNOW that you deserve it all. Feel it in your heart and soul. Love yourself like you never have before (or at least have forgotten how)!

Sat Nam

Miss Nothing!

"The fragrance of blossoms soon passes
The ripeness of fruit is gone in a twinkling
Our time in this world is so short
Better to avoid regret
Miss no opportunity to savor the ineffable."
~Loy Ching Yuen, 20th Century Taoist Master

Don't be afraid! Don't hold back! Bust open your heart, your eyes, your ears, your nose, your touch! Savor the ineffable! Taste the sweetness!