Warrior Goddess

The Shambala Warrior is a gentle, nonviolent warrior. This warrior breaks down the walls encapsulating her heart. She's unafraid to dig deep inside and face what's there. She feels the power in groundlessness, uncertainty. In fact, the adventure excites her. She realizes this takes bravery and courage.

I'm slowly becoming that warrior, accepting it as a lifelong journey, a long road. I love with every ounce of energy I possess. I trust more deeply in the goodness of others and the Universe. I feel safe and supported. I invite you to join me on the exciting, glorious journey.

"Every moment is an opportunity for love and transformation."~unknown

All is as it should be!

Surrender...Trust...Have Faith...Let Go...Whatever words resonate with you. When we learn to surrender and get out of our own way, the Universe, God, fill in the blank, always takes care of us. What seems like an impossible situation, a painful challenge, a heartbreaking event suddenly unfolds as a magical experience to learn, grow, discover our true path. We must sit patiently, be present, breathe, and be open to whatever comes next. No judgment, no control, just loving kindness.

"I learn by going where I have to go."~Theodore Roethke

A New Year...A New You??

I don't believe the statement which is the title of this blog post today. It should read A New Year...The Real You...The Original You...The Forgotten You. On the path called life, we eventually will find we have come full circle, back to the divine, beautiful, perfect self. We all already possess everything we need. We've just forgotten or been brainwashed by the constant chatter (chitta vrita) in our minds.

One of my focuses of late has been to be the "observer," the "witness," of my thoughts. I've noticed that I don't even believe the old tape recordings that I continue to play over and over in my mind. We all become so programmed, tuned out, shut down to these thoughts. I've started noticing, hitting the stop button, then the erase button, and letting go and moving on. I'm not hard on myself so much anymore.

Do you still need to worry? Live in doubt? Fear? Can you trust? Do you believe? When is the last time you revisited these questions honestly, presently?

"Only I am responsible for what I think. It is at this leve that I exercise choice."

Finding Peace

I guess the title of today's blog describes where I've been for almost 2 months! Digging deep, reading books, meditating and doing volunteer work at Shambala Mountain Center, focusing on my beautiful daughter and gift, Lily, and being vulnerable:busting my heart wide open. The shift to groundlessness has occured; when I realize nothing is solid, nothing is stagnant, nothing is changeless. What a relief. All that struggle, attachment, high expectations, assumptions, fears...they've loosened their stranglehold grip on me and my mind. They have not totally vanished (goodness, I'm human!), but they've noticeably backed off. I realize I have absolutely nothing to lose, because I don't even own any of it in the first place.

Buddhists believe that we cause our own suffering, samsara, by believing things to be permanent, changeless. Freedom comes from just allowing, being, trusting.

It's nice to be back...but not on solid ground!

Truly Loving Life

I wrote "Celebrating Life" on my FB page today, just another way to state how amazing life is if we only take the time to truly just be in it and be grateful. I live in one of the most beautiful cities/states around, I have been blessed with an awesome daughter, amazing, big-hearted friends and family, I am financially stable, super fit, mentally healthy and truly a loving soul. I wear my heart on my sleeve and love people and am always giving them the benefit of the doubt. What's a "second" chance? I give third, fourth, fifth chances!! Why the hell not?

I also quoted Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I know of him through my love of Pema Chodron, his student. I highly recommend ANY book by CTR. I happen to be reading Shambala, the Sacred Path of the Warrior. The path of the warrior has nothing to do with violence or fighting. It's exactly the opposite. It's about bravery and fearlessness, especially when it comes to loving ourselves and knowing just who we are and loving ourselves anyhow (which then of course makes it a piece of cake to love and be kind and accpeting to others). It's about kindness, gentleness, warmth, and celebrating life!

Yes, I am a warrior goddess. I'm brave, kind, loving, unafraid!

How Do You Respond To Discomfort?

This is one of my favorite questions. My favorite yoga teachers ask it in every class, several times throughout class. I ask my students in my indoor cycling classes (and plan to in all my yoga classes). The answer is very telling...and of course I'm not just referring to physical discomfort.

In yoga, when my quads are on fire, holding an asana, where does my mind go? Do I want to come out of it? Give up? Curse the instructor? Then do I beat myself up because of my decision? This is absolutely a metaphor for life. When things get uncomfortable, when "stuff" comes up, when things aren't going our way, how do we respond? Denial? Blame? Self-destruction? Shut down? Don the armor?

I'd like to encourage all of us to start trying, just trying, a different approach. How about staying in the asana, breathing hugely through the discomfort, repeating something beautiful and positive to yourself, being gentle and loving, experiencing fully the discomfort and letting go of the story.

I know, this takes so much trust and faith in ourselves, two emotions that don't come so easily for us. But what's the alternative? Repeating the pattern over and over, of course! And therefore not really "doing" yoga and certainly not "living" our yoga.

Paths Crossing

Do you ever wonder why some people come into our lives? I think about this a lot. It's very intriguing to me. I believe everyone is a teacher. I believe in past lives. Have we met these folks in another life, possibly in a different form? Will we keep meeting them in future lives until we finally learn the lesson they were meant to teach us? Isn't this great stuff to ponder? I think it's yummy, juicy, sweet. I, of course, am speaking of those folks we love, those we hate, those we connect with, and those that drive us crazy. They were brought into our lives for a purpose. Just think back...you'll find numerous examples of what I'm speaking of.

More recently, I've tried not to judge. What do I know of another's path? I try to put myself in the other's shoes. I try not to give up on them too easily. I'm feeling more compassionate and unconditional. It's so darn easy to judge, to convict, to blame. What if we stop for just a second and reconsider judgment and dismissal? All the more love we get to receive in return!!!