POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR LIFE
SEPTEMBER 14, 2010. "The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. The possibility is always there. ~Monica Baldwin
Nothing has expanded, bloomed or grown from contemplating the impossibility of things. If you tell yourself something is impossible the law of attraction will deliver this to you. This practice reminds us to be careful for what we ask for in our thoughts and even more fundamentally that you are responsible for the quality of your life, the quality of your intentions. This currency of believing in the impossibility of things sets humans apart from other creatures. And the fact that all in all we don't have that long in this earthly body is a pretty solid boundary. Robert Braul says it like this, "Life is short, God's way of encouraging a bit of focus."
"Waste not the smallest thing created, for grains of sand make mountains, and atomies infinity. Waste not the smallest time in imbecile infirmity, for well thou knowest that seconds form eternity." ~E. Knight
When we practice breathing and moving through the poses we start from small and simple movement to larger and more complex recognizing how we can create art, movement, sensation, and emotion by our own efforts. And the more heart and practice we put in the more we expand and we see the changes within us. The back of our eyes start to see the external world as filled with potential. For how we experience the world is based on how we see it on the inside first. And then all of our breaths become yoga whether on the mat or off. And then from there the eyes of our hearts open slowing and we proudly stand up in the world with heart wide open to the possibilities that exist to "make a new happy ending."
I used to say I could never bend my knee parallel to the ground in Warrior poses. Then the universal intelligence that is embracing us had me see that I was doing it. And just like that my disbelief vanished!
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” -Frank Lloyd Wright
I stopped backing off from life and realized how precious it is to have this one chance. And that being human like this, right now may never come again. And every time I step on the mat I am reminded of this gift. I hold to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." And how do I translate this yoga into the yoga of life? I kiss more, I hug more, I enjoy the beauty of food more, I explore more and I say I love you more. I keep expanding....and the thing is I want that for you too. So what are you waiting for? Start now. Believe in the endless possibilities for living the life of your dreams! It is possible. Anything is. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia (PS Read the book A Year to Live by Stephen Levine)
IMPERMANENCE AND ONENESS: LIFE AND HARMONY
JULY 17, 2009: Einstein says that “is there not a certain satisfaction in the fact that natural limits are set to the life of the individual, so that at the conclusion it may appear as a work of art?” Spiritual practice reminds us that life is very brief. No matter how many years we have in this body we know that it is impermanent. Pema Chodran speaks to how impermanence heightens that feeling of preciousness and gratitude. A fundamental Buddhist teaching says that once you are born, you immediately start dying.
Now if that doesn’t put things in perspective I don’t know what will.
Mortality is not scary dudes. The way I look at impermanence is that it reminds us we are all ONE. There is this yoga uniting all spirits, all nature. Our visit here is vitally important and so why not aspire towards harmony and use this trip we’re on to unite and celebrate one another? Do we really need to spend any of our time fighting, destroying, rehearsing, dividing? Is it worthwhile to battle even the difficult people or situations in our life knowing what we know, that life is fleeting? I’ve spent time fighting against life by working too hard, climbing the corporate ladder too hard, accumulating stuff with almost militant gusto, then my Dad passed when he was only 59 years old. That changed me forever. There is no need to push at life.
As I have always said, nature is my best teacher. And I find great healing in the lessons that trees share with us by their existence. We live because they live and vice versa. Trees seem to me the symbol of this synergy of oneness and harmony. We live in all things, and all things live in us.
“I believe in the absolute oneness of God and therefore also of humanity. What though we have many bodies? We have but ONE soul. – Ghandi
“We live by the sun
We feel by the moon
We move by the stars
We live in all things
All things live in us
We eat from the earth
We drink from the rain
We breath of the air
We live in all things
All things live in us
We call to each other
We listen to each other
Our hearts deepen with love and compassion
We live in all things
All things live in us (By Stephanie Kaza, Earth Prayers)
During the course of the practice we get to try different poses. Some we can see as favorites and others as lessons. The spiritual practice is to embrace all of them as they symbolize difficult and easy people in our lives. So in the words of Indian philosopher Krishnamurti, “love the whole tree”. Love your whole life, be grateful for everyone, celebrate each moment for it never comes again. This is not a rehearsal, the state of harmony we allow ourselves determines the quality of our one life, right now.
Love not the shapely branch,
Nor place its image alone in your heart.
It dies away.
Love the whole tree;
Then you will love the shapely branch,
The tender and withered leaf,
They shy bud and the full blown flower,
The falling petal and the dancing night,
The splendid shadow of full love.
Ah, love life it its fullness.
It knows no decay. (