The One Who is at Play Everywhere said,
There is a place in the heart where everything meets.
Go there if you want to find me.
Mind, senses, soul, eternity, all are there.
Are you there?Enter the bowl of vastness that is the heart.
Give yourself to it with total abandon.Quiet ecstasy is there -
and a steady, regal sense of resting in a perfect spot.Once you know the way
the nature of attention will call you
to return, again and again,
and be saturated with knowing,
“I belong here, I am at home here.”Answer that call.
From The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche
Radiance
Do you want to be free to be who you are?
It is amazing how the moment we stop devoting our time to commenting, judging or trying to fix the lives of other people, how much more energy this releases to tending to our own evolvement as human beings.
If we can just allow the people around us to exist, on their own path, their own journey without the constant commenting narrative going on concerning them in our own minds, then we instantly free up so much more time to positively focus on ourselves and our loved ones (of course, if we can realize that the more love we give to all of the world in general, the more love this will generate also for us and the ones close to us, this would be wonderful, but lets assume for the sake of argument we are not quite there yet…).
Letting go of the negative energy we project towards others, be that in the shape of arguments, derogatory gossip or the constant judging in your mind of opinions/clothing/ways of expression, provides the momentum, the clear mental space and the energy we need to take care of ourselves, our own lives/bodies/minds and of the people closest to us in a more present way. When we let go of the violence of the mind and our words, and ”switch” to a language of compassion, this generates a tranquil state of being, and the peace of mind we need to look at our own lives clearly.
If you know that there are things creating imbalances in your life, do something about them. Whether it is to let go of something, or perhaps introduce discipline. Today. There is no better time.
And letting go of the judging – yes, also the judging of the judging – or commenting of others, can be a way of releasing a guilt, we never knew that we had.
To receive something, we must first be prepared to give that to someone else. So if you want to be free to exist, just the way you are, without being judged or the object of negative energy, why can you not give this first to someone else?
Learning to surrender… the hard way…
Third week with a torn hamstring tendon… Meaning either none at all or an unbalanced asana practice. And a much more soft and accepting one at that… Of course it came at a time when I had all sorts of expectations and images of what my practice was going to look like the following weeks and months… A rigorous, regular asana practice, scheduled and disciplined… and of course I was at the moment of the injury entertaining thoughts on how much I felt like my practice was advancing in this period of time, how strong I was feeling and how open my hips/shoulders/bac were… And – crack – there you go, couldn’t you almost see it coming? Yes, after hand, I can.
So while I am sitting here writing – in half lotus though, mind you, can still do that much – ”my” yoga class is practicing and sweating together, generating beautiful prana and then releasing into grace as they die a little in Savasana… Me and my hamstring are left outside, learning to except our limitations, on and off the mat. Next time, maybe I won’t push as hard… next time, maybe I will be a little more compassionate… Or maybe already in this moment..?
Maybe I can understand that ahimsa begins also with the self and the own body? Maybe it is not a good thing to put my leg behind my head if I have to torture it to get there? Maybe I can give in to the harmony within, so that it may be transmitted without? Maybe I can be softer, more forgiving, more surrender – less suffering? Maybe, my injury is teaching me how to be gentle in my life and in my love (and in my beliefs and convictions…) – both towards myself and to others (which is all the same anyway…)? Maybe, that is worth to sit out a few asana classes for…?
Nectar and Poison
Love.
I am one with all things
- in beauty, in ugliness, for whatsoever is
- there I am.
Not only in virtue but in sin too I am a partner,
and not only heaven but hell too is mine.
Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu – it is easy to be their heir,
but Ghengis, Taimur, and Hitler?
They are also within me!
No, not half – I am the whole of mankind!
Whatsoever is man’s is mine
- flowers and thorns, darkness as well as light,
and if nectar is mine, whose is poison?
Nectar and poison – both are mine.
Whoever experiences this I call religious,
for only the anguish of such experience
can revolutionize life on earth.
Osho
We have not come here to take prisoners
It seems to be a week… where I am finding that the words that move me the most are those of others… My own are resting, somewhere in the space between the in- and the exhale… In a period of rediscovering poetry as a way of opening the heart. How can words sometimes feel so inadequate, and then, sometimes, they can drop into your soul and let an entire world unfold in continuous expansion of something far more inclusive then the “mind”..?
So once again, I would just like to share another beautiful poem by Hafiz…
We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love.
Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings.
Run like hell my dear,
From anyone likely
To put a sharp knife
Into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart.
We have a duty to befriend
Those aspects of obedience
That stand outside of our house
And shout to our reason
“O please, O please,
Come out and play.”
For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom and
Light!
Hafiz, again…
“This place where you are right now…God circled on a map for you. Wherever your eyes and arms and heart can move against the earth and sky, the Beloved has bowed there – our Beloved has bowed there knowing you were coming”
One moment can change your life. All we have is now…
In a previous post I mentioned art as something that can open your heart and then you never look at the world quite the same… as a form of magic. Practices can work their magic over time, and alter your view of everything completely (yoga, mediation, cultivating loving kindness… you know, the small stuff…). And of course, people can enter your life just like that, and change it forever… These kinds of magics – shifts in perception – can appear slowly, working like water on stone, softly shaping their way into your heart… or like when a bird builds its nest – every time returning with a new twig until what in parts were nothing more than dead wood becomes a home… These are beautiful paths in transformation. But we should also be open to the possibility, that somethings can wake you up and shake you, so intensely twist the fabric of what you thought you knew, and in the blink of an eye make you realize you know nothing at all… (isn’t that wonderful?). And learn to expect nothing. And coincidentally, to fear nothing… It doesn’t have to be a spectacular occurrence. We all have teachers all around us, all the time. The guru – the remover of darkness – is an inherit quality in so much more than we think… All (really, all?) that is needed is awareness… presence… An open heart? (oh, well that’s not a lot then…) One moment can change your life. All we have is now.
Came across this… a different sort of top 5…
A nurse tells the story about the five top regrets that people have before they die…
“For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.
I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see Continue reading
