Saturday, March 8, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Bodhisattva Vow
The Bodhisattva Vow
“May I be a guard for those who are protectorless,
A guide for those who journey on the road.
For those who wish to go across the water,
May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.
May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall,
A lamp for those who long for light.
For those who need a resting place, a bed;
For all who need a servant may I be a slave.
May I be the wishing jewel, a vase of plenty,
A word of power, and the Supreme Remedy.
May I be the trees of Miracles
And for every being, the abundant cow.
Like the good earth and the other elements,
Enduring as the boundless multitude of living beings,
May I be the ground and vessel of life.
Thus for every single thing that lives,
In number like the boundless reaches of the sky,
May I be their sustenance and nourishment,
Until they pass beyond the bounds of suffering.”
The Yoga of Offering
We all have struggles, struggles in our physical bodies, in our ever-changing state of mind, in our relationships, struggles in our lives. The key to understanding life and understanding ourselves is how do we relate to and react to these challenges in our lives. How do we not get caught up in these times and allow our view of the world around us to be all encompassed by these things and these situations? Offer it up! The ultimate goal of yoga is connection with the divine and a way to feel this in our lives and our practice is the practice of Ishvarpranidhana- surrendering (pranidhana) to a higher source (Ishvara). Ishvarpranidhana is “seeing the bigger picture”. It initiates a shift in perspective from “I” to the sacred and this shift of perspective helps us remember to align with, and receive the grace of being alive. Ishvara is whatever your higher source may be, God, Buddha, Jesus, Mother Earth, but more importantly than the name attached is the connection to sacredness of the universe that supports and enables a connection to our higher self, free from the ego and our worldly concerns. Indian yoga master BKS Iyengar states it best in “Light on the Yoga Sutras….”Through surrender the aspirant’s ego is effaced and….grace.. Pours down upon him like a torrential rain.” Isvhara pranidhana provides a pathway through challenges and obstacles of ego toward our true divine nature of grace, peace, love, freedom and joy.
One of the most beautiful offerings I have ever witnessed was the creation of a sand mandala. For a week these Buddhist monks chiseled away with small tools and grains of sand to create the most intricate and beautiful mandala eyes could see and the final day this mandala that had been lovingly created was offered up and brushed away. To me this offering not only displayed the impermanence of life but the beauty of creation. Knowing that the intention and the process of the work was far greater than the mandala itself. We can offer our day to day lives and each action and step that we take to the divine. Each breath coming back to source, each step sacred, each moment true. Making our lives an offering to Isvhara. So next time we feel pressed by life, caught up in our struggles and the demands of life, take a moment step back, breath in breath out and offer it up and connect to the support of the universe that is there to support us at All times of our lives… Namaste’
One of the most beautiful offerings I have ever witnessed was the creation of a sand mandala. For a week these Buddhist monks chiseled away with small tools and grains of sand to create the most intricate and beautiful mandala eyes could see and the final day this mandala that had been lovingly created was offered up and brushed away. To me this offering not only displayed the impermanence of life but the beauty of creation. Knowing that the intention and the process of the work was far greater than the mandala itself. We can offer our day to day lives and each action and step that we take to the divine. Each breath coming back to source, each step sacred, each moment true. Making our lives an offering to Isvhara. So next time we feel pressed by life, caught up in our struggles and the demands of life, take a moment step back, breath in breath out and offer it up and connect to the support of the universe that is there to support us at All times of our lives… Namaste’
Riding the waves of change..
Riding the waves of change
“The only thing constant in the world is change.
That’s why today I take life as it comes.” India Arie
This song by India Arie for me, sums up the aspect of change, we cannot escape it no matter how hard we try and the only way to deal with it is day by day, moment by moment, breath by breath. From a young age, as if almost instilled in us is the struggle with things changing. What a paradox it seems for everything at every moment is in a constant state of evolution. As a mother, I witness first hand my 3 year old struggle with change and for him he shows it on an external level with temper tantrums, sleep patterns changing and just plain frustration. After Hurricane Katrina, my whole family was relocated here to Florida from Biloxi, that was a lot of change for all of us. Each day we had to learn to “take life as it comes” for we were unsure of what the future would hold, all we knew was that things were changing and changing rapidly. Now after some time has past I can look back and see how we all evolved and grew during that time.
In Yoga there is a Sanskrit term Parinamavada, the idea that constant change is an inherent part of life. If we can learn to embrace this concept maybe our need to struggle would diminish. We would finally understand what it is meant to be in the present moment on and off our yoga mats. It is the day to day checking in and accessing where we are and not assuming that we are the same as we were the day before. On the mat is the discerning of what kind of practice best serves us. Finding that connection between the body, mind and spirit, not doing what we think we should do, being who we think we should be, just simply the connecting to the truth of the moment and moving from that space. Even throughout a practice we can feel an evolution taking place, our bodies begin to open, that postures take us deeper, the breathe levels and the mind subsides. For me that is the important aspect of beginning and ending the time on the mat with moments of meditation and honoring the changes that you want to create and that have occurred and honoring yourself for showing up. Each day if we take a moment and check in we can see who we are in that moment and also honor ourselves for showing up. So much of yoga is the work outside the mat, but the work on it helps us to become more aware. Living Yoga and doing Yoga are two separate things, but we must start somewhere.
So as the seasons change, day turns to night, infants turn into toddlers, the young become the old, can we learn to ride the ebb and flow of life? The answer I believe is YES… through surrender, through acceptance. In Buddhism it is believed that we all struggle until we realize that we don’t have to and then struggling subsides. There are times when life brings us change with a small wave lapping up the shore and other times that life brings us a hurricane of change. Hold on tight, breathe in breathe out and now that “This to shall pass.” Namaste’
“The only thing constant in the world is change.
That’s why today I take life as it comes.” India Arie
This song by India Arie for me, sums up the aspect of change, we cannot escape it no matter how hard we try and the only way to deal with it is day by day, moment by moment, breath by breath. From a young age, as if almost instilled in us is the struggle with things changing. What a paradox it seems for everything at every moment is in a constant state of evolution. As a mother, I witness first hand my 3 year old struggle with change and for him he shows it on an external level with temper tantrums, sleep patterns changing and just plain frustration. After Hurricane Katrina, my whole family was relocated here to Florida from Biloxi, that was a lot of change for all of us. Each day we had to learn to “take life as it comes” for we were unsure of what the future would hold, all we knew was that things were changing and changing rapidly. Now after some time has past I can look back and see how we all evolved and grew during that time.
In Yoga there is a Sanskrit term Parinamavada, the idea that constant change is an inherent part of life. If we can learn to embrace this concept maybe our need to struggle would diminish. We would finally understand what it is meant to be in the present moment on and off our yoga mats. It is the day to day checking in and accessing where we are and not assuming that we are the same as we were the day before. On the mat is the discerning of what kind of practice best serves us. Finding that connection between the body, mind and spirit, not doing what we think we should do, being who we think we should be, just simply the connecting to the truth of the moment and moving from that space. Even throughout a practice we can feel an evolution taking place, our bodies begin to open, that postures take us deeper, the breathe levels and the mind subsides. For me that is the important aspect of beginning and ending the time on the mat with moments of meditation and honoring the changes that you want to create and that have occurred and honoring yourself for showing up. Each day if we take a moment and check in we can see who we are in that moment and also honor ourselves for showing up. So much of yoga is the work outside the mat, but the work on it helps us to become more aware. Living Yoga and doing Yoga are two separate things, but we must start somewhere.
So as the seasons change, day turns to night, infants turn into toddlers, the young become the old, can we learn to ride the ebb and flow of life? The answer I believe is YES… through surrender, through acceptance. In Buddhism it is believed that we all struggle until we realize that we don’t have to and then struggling subsides. There are times when life brings us change with a small wave lapping up the shore and other times that life brings us a hurricane of change. Hold on tight, breathe in breathe out and now that “This to shall pass.” Namaste’
Where is God?
When asked where God is, people point towards the sky or some far and distant region; no wonder then that He does not manifest Himself! Realize that He is in you, with you, behind you, and all around you; and He can be seen and felt everywhere.
-Sathya Sai Baba
-Sathya Sai Baba
Yoga: The art of Contentment (Santosha)
The Practice of Contentment: Santosha
Lately on the mat as a student and as a teacher, I have been moving my practice through levels, the 3 A’s… Awareness, Acceptance, Adjustment. Looking at this levels from a physical standpoint we first come into a posture, let’s say child’s pose, taking in the breath and being aware of the body, what areas of the body are at peace, what areas of the body are in suffering. Observe these conditions with total acceptance, not trying to change anything at this point, just honoring and taking in the present state of the body. Then from a deeply compassionate and accepting place ask yourself what can I change or adjust in my posture to bring more peace, more openness, more contentment. If there is something that can be done, make the adjustment, if not breathe and wait. What you may find is just in the act of acceptance something will shift. The body will respond to acceptance and may adjust itself, letting go through acceptance brings a level of contentment on the deeper levels of our beings that can be seen in the outer physical body. Just trusting/knowing that the posture is simply as good as it can be today. When we see image of the yoga masters or advanced yogis in posture you will notice a sense of calmness and peace on there faces, there is not overexertion shown in their faces or bodies, when deeply connected to Santosha, our spirits respond with joy and openness.
In this fast paced society there seems to be little contentment. We are told from a young age through the media that we need the next thing, the better thing to be happy. Every year there is a bigger tv, a faster computer, a better version of a toy we love, more money to be made. As a parent I struggle with how to be happy that we can provide the children with material things they want and balancing that with teaching contentment and gratitude from what we have. Where is the balance? For me as I learn to cultivate Santosha in my life and my practice I am able to be a better role model for this practice in my family. Every year of practice brings a deeper knowing that the material things come and go and that my spirit does not long for these things. My spirit longs for Awareness, longs for Acceptance, longs for Growth.
When I moved from Florida leaving my friends and community to Biloxi I found myself very discontentment. In trying to find my way I was moving from one thing to another, one person to another searching for contentment outside of myself. I began to take notice and realized that the contentment that I was seeking needed to come from within. I planted seeds of contentment(I believe they were petunias) in my garden. Each time I watered these seeds my intention was to water the inner seed of contentment. As these flowers began to grow and sprout I realized that the seed of contentment within myself also began to grow. There became a sense of peace about where I lived and what I was doing. Accepting my life and reveling in it. Realizing that all that is needed lies within the content of the moment, even if that moment seems difficult. This kind of realization allows us to stand in the center of life and remain ourselves, our True Divine Self even in the midst of chaos or challenge we make the agreement with our Spirit through the practice of Santosha to be fully alive.
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