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Getting Edgy in Your Practice - C'mon Up to the Campfire!

21/2/2013

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Within the flickering light and warmth of the flame, but not consumed…

Within the asana practice, there can be times of struggle and times of ease; times where we feel the need to coax just a little more out of it, and times where we realize that we are simply coasting through it. We need to be aware of those moments that take us from our intention and attention, or attraction, to the natural and innate tendencies to push too hard, or to simply drift away into the ease and mindlessness.


The edge: not the ‘edge’ where they say "if you aren’t living on the you’re taking up too much space". No, the edge of the practice, that vital space of information and transformation; any less effort and our mind wanders out of the asana practice – any more effort and we would abuse the subtlety of pranayama and lose the benefit of the practice!

So, I would liken this ‘edge’ in the practice to a campfire – come along for my story.


The campfire is warm and it represents safety; its light and warmth are a comfort and it’s a refuge from the darkness. The light keeps the critters away, it casts a protective circle - the heat keeps you warm and contained, and present. The dancing of the flames on the embers is entrancing, mesmerizing, and timeless. It’s what is happening, it’s the primary conversion of energy that we can participate in, it offers purification and possibility; and, potentially danger as well.

If we rush too quickly towards that edge, the campfire, we may stumble, or create too much momentum and not stop in time. We may choke on the smoke, we may get cinders in our eyes, and we may singe our eyebrows or even be injured in the manifestation of the fire! We lose clarity, we hurt ourselves, we gasp and recoil, and we cause stress.

If we tarry, or we hesitate, we also may suffer. We may remain cold and distant; we may be lost outside of the safety and comfort of the circle of light. We may be prey to those things in the shadows that aren’t pleasant, and without the light of the campfire, we may imagine them to be larger or more persistent than they are. We would miss the community, the reverence, the dancing lights of the embers and flames, the energetic exchange of the fire and folk.


And, what is the ‘edge detector?' How do we know that we aren’t playing with fire, or giving ourselves a cold shoulder? The breath: the breath is the detector of the edge in our practice.


Does it lose the quality of mindfulness when we don’t fully engage and bring ourselves into the asana – not the 'fullest expression' - just engaged integrity and focus? Does it become shallow and unattended and does the mind wander? If you can plan your day, you should rather commit to being present and engaging in the practice; find more sensation and engagement, come a little closer to the flame.

Likewise, do you take every offered intensification and expression, greedily rushing in, mindless of the edge and then finding yourself gasping, panting, mouth-breathing? If we rush too quickly to the heat and the transformation or purification, we can’t sustain - and contain - the healthy fire without the pranayama.


A difficult question to take into our practice – are there poses where you know you sacrifice the breath in order to ‘nail’ the pose? What is the benefit of that?? Does the expression of the asana that you seek undermine the integrity of the pranayama and turn you into a mouth-breather?? Sweet lil' blue-faced baby cow-hugging Krishna, forbid it!

That’s why I like this metaphor of the ‘edge’ and the campfire. Don’t rush in and get burned and ruin your trip; but don’t hang out in the cold woods and get bit by a big bad wolf!! Practice working gently to and fro, right at the threshold where you maximize the internal mantra of ‘I am breathing in, I am breathing out’ and let that be the whole of your mind.

Breath, linked to engaged expression in posture: Pranayama, Asana, and perhaps, Pratyahara – the intentional withdrawal from your senses and into the moment in front of you – and edgy concept, but a worthy one!

Give thanks and praise, see you ‘round the campfire!



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If We Can Be In Love With Someone Who Is Away From Us, Can't We Be In Love With Someone Who Is Gone From Us?

14/2/2013

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A letter to his dead wife...

I've posted this before, but it's so resonant and on point for this day... I'm a bit of a sentimentalist when it comes to loving your partner, and the desire to know and experience connection unbound, unending and unseverable.

I'm not enough of a sentimentalist to think it's clouds and harps, but I'm always inspired when one of my heroes and mentors (and most rational and excellent bongo-playing man of science) gets me weepy with his words.

From the incredible Richard Feynman... here's the story. In June of 1945, Arline Feynman — high-school sweetheart and wife of the hugely influential physicist, Richard Feynman — passed away after succumbing to tuberculosis. She was 25-years-old.

16 months later, in October of 1946, Richard wrote his late wife the following love letter and sealed it in an envelope. It remained unopened until after his death in 1988.


October 17, 1946

D’Arline,

I adore you, sweetheart.

I know how much you like to hear that — but I don't only write it because you like it — I write it because it makes me warm all over inside to write it to you.

It is such a terribly long time since I last wrote to you — almost two years but I know you'll excuse me because you understand how I am, stubborn and realistic; and I thought there was no sense to writing.

But now I know my darling wife that it is right to do what I have delayed in doing, and that I have done so much in the past. I want to tell you I love you. I want to love you. I always will love you.

I find it hard to understand in my mind what it means to love you after you are dead — but I still want to comfort and take care of you — and I want you to love me and care for me. I want to have problems to discuss with you — I want to do little projects with you. I never thought until just now that we can do that. What should we do. We started to learn to make clothes together — or learn Chinese — or getting a movie projector. Can't I do something now? No. I am alone without you and you were the "idea-woman" and general instigator of all our wild adventures.

When you were sick you worried because you could not give me something that you wanted to and thought I needed. You needn’t have worried. Just as I told you then there was no real need because I loved you in so many ways so much. And now it is clearly even more true — you can give me nothing now yet I love you so that you stand in my way of loving anyone else — but I want you to stand there. You, dead, are so much better than anyone else alive.

I know you will assure me that I am foolish and that you want me to have full happiness and don't want to be in my way. I'll bet you are surprised that I don't even have a girlfriend (except you, sweetheart) after two years. But you can't help it, darling, nor can I — I don't understand it, for I have met many girls and very nice ones and I don't want to remain alone — but in two or three meetings they all seem ashes. You only are left to me. You are real.

My darling wife, I do adore you.

I love my wife. My wife is dead.

Rich.

PS Please excuse my not mailing this — but I don't know your new address.

For the loved, the beloved, those here in arms and those lost to us and only held in the heart and mind. Here's to love, across the units we can measure and beyond those we can comprehend.

Give thanks and praise, and be loved, loving and beloved. Say it, it won't hurt you: mean it and it will fulfill you.

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Happy Imbolc - Groundhogs, Bonfires and Brigid...

2/2/2013

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Today is a special day, not because of a Groundhog, but he has some twisted role in it! Read on...

Today it Imbolc, or Imbolg! Imbolc is the name of the pagan festival celebrated on what was the first day of the Old Spring. Sometime centuries thereafter, it was appropriated and in Christian times it was transferred to Candlemas, but we'll get there later.

This is a special time of the year; in addition to the four solar events of the Equinoxes and Solstices, most of the ancient cultures had an 'eight-spoke wheel of the year'. So, it was not unique to the Celts in seeing this time as a beginning of vernal stirrings.

In the archaic Roman calendar,
February was the last month of their calendar year- the name derives from februa, which means "the means of purification or expiatory offerings." We call this 'svaha' in the yogi culture. February marked a turn of season bringing the renewal of agricultural activities after winter. This day is the center point between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere.

In Ireland, Imbolc was the feis or festival marking the beginning of Spring. During this time, large gatherings and great feasts were held as is attested to in some of the earliest Old Irish literature, appearing from the 10th century onward. Imbolc was traditionally aligned with the start of the 'lactation of ewes and the beginning of lambing season'. Since the Northern Hemisphere is large and the range of Celtic culture broad, this could vary by as much as two weeks before or after the start of February. 

This holiday is a festival of the hearth and home; it stands as a celebration of the onset of the lengthening of days and the early promises of spring. That’s how it got associated with Groundhog’s day and all of the trapping, but I believe it was originally a badger…

Celebrations often involved hearth-fires or bon-fires, special foods of the dairy-variety, clairvoyance, scrying, divination or watching for omens, and the lighting of candles – hence Candlemas. These ideas of fire, of seeing and of burning all show that purification is an important part of the festival. The lighting of candles and fires represented the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months, as well as the burning away of the old – that’s a little yoga right there.

The word itself, imbolc derives from the old Gaelic, i mbolg  meaning "in the belly” referring to the lambing season and the pregnancy of ewes. Imbolc is immediately followed by Candlemas; therefore, sometimes the names are used interchangeably.

Imbolc is also call Saint Brighid’s Day, or Lá Fhéile Bríde or Là Fhèill Brìghde or Laa’l Breeshey, all festivals honoring Brigid. Since each of these represent the first promise of spring, fertiliity and life, they all are held at the place halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. One of the eight-spokes of the year.

So, celebrate - enjoy, light a candle or make a fire. Consider what should be left behind, and with intention, place that in the fire. Propitiate, make offering and give it up! Svaha! Enjoy your Imbolc!!

Give thanks and praise!




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Study - Step 10 to Happiness.

30/11/2012

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Study - well, if that doesn't sound ominous, odious, and dreary... Not so, not so - in reality, I'm talking about 'study' as when we find a 'yoga' with something. For instance, when we find an activity or pursuit that really engages and delights us, it's no burden at all to get into it and study up and learn more about it. We seek out those others that are 'good' at it or can help us; we might read up, ask around or work on improving skills. All of this, I suggest, is study.

Study, like watch a flower bloom. Study, like read about a passion. Study, as in observe yourself and your behaviors to learn more about your own subconscious and how that might alter your perceptions. Dive deep, go into something wholeheartedly, devote time and attention. There are so many ways to study.

In the 8 limbs of yoga, we are told that Svadhyaya - study - is one of the imperatives. While there are many ways to translate or interpret the meaning of 'study' in this word, it's most often considered that studying sacred texts will help us study ourselves, as all is allegorical, metaphorical and simply about the true nature of consciousness. By broadening our perspective, we can begin to see the unity.


“It is useful to study different traditions in order to be free of attachment to any one way of expressing what is beyond expression.”
― Ravi Ravindra, The Wisdom of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide by Ravi Ravindra
Svādhyāya is one of the three key elements in the Kriya (practice, technique) of Yogah (yoga) as defined in the Yoga Sutras. In fact, it opens the second chapter and then later Patanjali mentions Svādhyāya a second time as one of the five Niyamas (observances), along with Sauca (purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (zeal, austerity), and Ishvari-Pranadhana (surrender).

I love Sutra 2.1 - I use it on my bio page, because to me, it defines the practice - not of asana, but of yoga. And, while I'm not recovering, it's a basically the Serenity Prayer -

tapah svadhyaya ishvara-pranidhana kriya-yogah (PYS 2:1)

let me have 'Tapah' (the creative force to make change), the Ishavari-Pranadhana (the ability to surrender to that which is greater) and the Svadhyaya (the wisdom to know the difference, what is called for)... this is the Kriya (practice) of Yoga.

I'm not suggesting you have to dive into the Sutras, read the Gita, go back to the Bible, or any sacred text. You could study yourself with Thoreau, with Schopenhauer, with Neitzche, with Shakespeare, with David Sedaris. Really, you can study through reading, or through experience.

I've spent a lot of time reading sacred texts, from all cultures. I'm emboldened by the original purity of the intention and message and how universal they are; I am dismayed by how much culture and time and imposition was added to the those texts and now they have been perverted through poor usage and other agendas. I thought the following quote was right on track...
“Spiritual literature can be a great aid to an aspirant, or it can be a terrible hindrance. If it is used to inspire practice, motivate compassion, and nourish devotion, it serves a very valuable purpose.

If scriptural study is used for mere intellectual understanding, for pride of accomplishment, or as a substitute for actual practice, then one is taking in too much mental food, which is sure to result in intellectual indigestion.”
― Prem Prakash, The Yoga of Spiritual Devotion A Modern Translation of the Narada Bhakti Sutras

This is why I prefer and suggest the study be experiential... that the classroom be the Self, that the Teacher or object of our study is the yoga or the mindfulness or the seva or whatever brings you into relationship with self and Self. Perhaps if you re-appropriated the word "study" out of the academic world, out of tests and proficiencies and all-nighters and simple regurgitation of facts, we could thrive in learning.

I like language, so let me end on that note - study, the etymology. If you trace most language groups back, they got to a common ancestor that is called P.I.E., or Proto-Indo European. This is the 'base language' for hundreds of language groups, which include Sanskrit and Latin and Greek. So, that's why we see cognates in Sanskrit to English. Sukha - Sucrose. Pada - Pedestrian, Podiatrist. Mukha - Mug as in Mugshot...

So, "study" comes down from a PIE root *(s)teu-  which means "to push, stick, knock, beat". As it arrived into the Latin, it took on the connotation of "being diligent, moving forward, applying attention". By the 1300s, CE, it had the specific meaning of "application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge".

But just keep it simple - push for it, stick to it, knock the disinformation and your preconceptions out of the way, beat aside falseness and even the temptation to take easy answers over truthful ones. Be diligent, move forward, apply attention. Apply your mind and efforts towards the acquisition of knowledge, and then thrive through that wisdom.

And, if you do all of that on a skateboard, or on the XBox, or by collecting Star Wars figures, then dive in, go deep, learn more. Study, be a student, learn to love learning and you will learn love and happiness.

Be well, give thanks and praise - last day here in Dallas assisting my fabulous teacher and mentor and friend, Seane.


Looking forward to getting back to the ATX and a fun weekend. Next installment coming up is, Step 11 - Aspire to Inspire!
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Move - Step 7 to Happiness!

23/11/2012

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Ha, after a day like yesterday, we all need to move a little. Maybe you're a traditionalist and you went outside and threw a pigskin - more likely you sat inside and pigged out as you watched other folks throw that ball...

Or, maybe you took a postprandial ambulation - the proverbial after dinner stroll - in order to not just pass out or make a little more room for pie. Perhaps you got up early and headed to the lake for a Turkey Trot, or a studio and took a yoga class; saw lots of folks taking advantage of that yesterday.

The news in not earth-shattering, it doesn't need to come as a huge revelation, maybe more of a gentle reminder. When we get a little sad, we get a little heavy. Then, we get sedentary and inert. It takes a lot of will to break that inertia, so usually, the inertia builds and it gets harder and harder to get the gumption to do anything. Then, the preponderance of all that 'doing nothing' makes us depressed; we sit in the depression, getting more inert. Without some movement to get our glandular system going and get us really deeply breathing, it's just a vicious cycle of more and more nothingness adding to deeper and deeper despondency.

So, there really is only one choice and that is get moving!! Like, just get off the couch and take a short walk. Get up and stretch, arms overhead, then to one side, then the other. Go up and down some stairs, at home or at work; next time you have an appointment on the 2nd or 3rd floor, walk up. When you feel heavy after a meal, take a short walk or just go outside and breath some fresh air.

We think our lives are so hard, and we work endlessly to be able to buy convenience creating and the pursuit of leisure. For more and more folks that equates to an entitlement of 'not doing anything' or  just 'vegging out' and we all know the variety known as couch potato...


A lot of folks work all day in relatively sedentary conditions - did you know that sitting at work for extended periods of time is actually shortening your life, almost as significantly as smoking!? Then, we sit in our car for a commute, come home and sit down and eat a huge, heavy meal, then plop on the couch to watch some Tube, while perhaps still snacking.

Movement and exercise help regulate the glandular and hormone system in the body, which regulates mental and emotional states. Optimizing our own body's system through regular movement and deep, focused breathing is perhaps the most basic and simple daily maintenance that we can perform. And, it doesn't have to be a huge investment or change. Simple, consistent actions have been shown to make a huge difference. Here's just a little science.

In a study of 65 women with depression and anxiety, the 34 women who took a yoga class twice a week for two months showed a significant decrease in depression and anxiety symptoms, compared to the 31 women who were not in the class.

“Eastern traditions such as yoga have a wonderful antidepressant effect in that they improve flexibility; involve mindfulness, which breaks up repetitive negative thoughts; increase strength; make you aware of your breathing; improve balance; and contain a meditative component,” says Norman E. Rosenthal, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Now, I know I'm a yogi, so of course, you say, the answer is yoga... yes, but there are other choices! Like yoga, the slow, gentle movements of Tai Chi are another Eastern tradition that might help you break free from sadness, the blues, depression or major depressive disorder.


In a study of 14 older Chinese patients with depression, those who took Tai Chi over a three-month period showed a significant improvement in their depression symptoms. The researchers theorized that the social aspects of Tai Chi, which is done in group settings, may have also played a role in its effectiveness.

That's interesting and helpful. The social aspects may or may not contribute to the overall health, as I talked about in the post on Bonding. It's always interesting to see how these various actions, traits, attributes and choices all serve to reinforce each other... being in community, bonding, accountability, empathy, service, etc.


We all know that having a community creates some accountability. I know yoga students, and have been there myself, where we know that on one particular day what draws us to get out of bed and on the mat is the community and our accountability to it - whether that means we show because they show, or that we know they'll tease us about why we didn't, or that there is a simple unspoken recognition of "if they are, I will." Accountability works and community creates accountability. On top of that, it also reinforces feelings of good will.

I'll be completely honest with you, and you may find this amusing or even concerning, coming from a "Yoga Teacher"... there are many times that I need that accountability and approach my practice with lethargy, or dread, or apathy. And, time after time, I experience those heavy feelings just dropping off of me, as I just get present, connect to the intentional yet casual community and link movement, breath, and attention. I'm talking usually before the third Surya Namaskar. It's really that quick, that effective, and I've never regretted getting into my movement and my breath, and working to create a yoga through asana and pranayama.

Move, breathe, take a walk, swing your arms, stand like Wonder Woman, run like you're wearing a cape, take the stairs, park farther away.


Give thanks and praise, tune in tomorrow for Step 8 - Sit!

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Find Where You Shine - Step 2 to Happiness.

15/11/2012

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That sounds exciting, doesn't it?

While some of the folks who dwell in the yoga-world want you to believe your ego is like the HIV virus and must be eradicated (you can live with it), it's nice every once in a while to feel good at something.

When we are doing something we like, where we know we can do well (and we feel the flow), we create positive feelings in ourselves. Not just positive feelings, but improved overall moods and mental states, through optimized brain chemistry. Not only does it feel good and make us feel better, it makes us learn more quickly and retain that knowledge more specifically.


If what we do well is service or involves giving, then we can also imbue those feelings into the service and others may choose to feel better. Like when you see a musician perform really well, you know they're digging it, yet you're digging it - you feel moved. Even though their enjoyment might be seen as selfish, they are expressing Self through the muse and therefore, serving others. And, we all feel good.

Now, comes the discernment - what are you good at? Next question - does that 'talent' or 'skill' or 'attribute' serve and promote well-being, connection and elevation? Interesting question, because I'm not talking about are you good at being sarcastic, condescending, superior, a prick, a bitch, a really nasty person? Those aren't areas I'm interested in seeing you excel in! Therefore, the title - Find Where You SHINE!!

Shine - it's the essence of passion embodied; it's the emanation of calling from the deepest Self that is apparent to others; it's the attractive force that draws the curious and the lost, like a moth to a flame. And, it's a source of subtle yet magnificent power, safety, security, care, love, illumination and elevation.

If you can't think of what you do well, think of what you'd like to do well and put your focus there - improve, practice, fail and get back up, endeavor, persevere, persist and surrender and become just a little better, and a little brighter.

If you do something well, hell, I don't care, maybe it's crocheting (I wouldn't even be able to evaluate your proficiency), then crochet like it makes the world better. Share it, love it, do it, serve with it, teach it, make it your mediation, choose it over vice - SHINE!

I did grow up getting my schoolin' in the Brady Household, via the small tube that back then had a knob on the side.... I remember, you do, too, and will probably out yourself by correcting which brother, but I'm pretty sure it was Peter (see, totally wrong, I'm in the edits, and it was Jan who got this advice; after the 'lemons on freckles debacle', she needed a solid), who went to ole Poppa, Mike Brady, and whined his (her) adolescent ass off about not being special. MIke's advice, to this day, rings in my ears - "Find out what your best at, and do your best at it!"

Words to live by: even if they came from Sherwood Schwartz, truth knows no container.

Ask your friends if you don't know - say, "hey, what am I good for?? what should I be doing?" - and if they love you, they'll answer!

Give thanks and praise, and come back tomorrow for the flip-side, Step 3 - Explore the Shadows!


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Dwell in Wonder - Step 1 to Happiness.

14/11/2012

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Wonder - awe, delight, to see or to look at, to love, to stand before, to smile, a miracle... also, to not know. To have no idea.

That's the rub. All of the great definitions of wonder make is so attractive, so pleasant. But wonder is to admire (to stare in the mirror), not to understand, but rather, to feel. Not to have knowledge of, but rather, to have experience of.

Too often, we're just driven to know the answer, and most of those answers are so petty... from the fundamentalist who simply won't think outside of the framework of what their dogma tells them, to the inquisitive mind that needs to know why things happen, good to bad, bad to good, or whatever combination.

We create myths, we create experiments, we seek the answers, as if the divine was in the gaps and if we could simply fill in all of the gaps, we'd be able to capture divinity. We are so sure there must be a reason, there must be a 'designer' or an process that we can outline every step of. No one can admit, we simply don't know. Yet, that may be the release.

I suggest, dwell in wonder. Dwell in awe, in delight, in merely seeing, in loving freely in the moment, stand before and be present and experience, smile, and watch miracles occur. Watch a flower bloom, watch a rainstorm come and go and dry up. Watch a puppy or a child grow. Sit and be and 'don't know' and feel how amazing and awe-inspiring it is to be present to mystery, to divinity and to wonder.

Turn on a light switch and be humbled - sure, you think you know how it works, you've got words like "bulb", "circuit", "switch", "current", etc. And, you have the idea, or do you? I don't know how a circuit works, only what it implies. I have no idea about electric currents and how they excite a filament. Someone told me shit, I feel smart now, so it is not miraculous to walk into a room and flip a switch and see light.... Except, IT IS!!

I mean, really - say you "don't know" and be okay with that. I don't know how things happen or why, I just watch them, watch myself, and try to move as subtly through the experience I can. I find ways to be in awe - I listen to experience, and share it without having to catalog, curate or create it.

So, consider that as a perspective. Given everything you know about humans, how do we not kill each other every time we drive or shop at malls?? Stand in wonder of it all.

Find wonder, be in awe, and dwell in it. Don't be so swift to need to know, smile and experience it. Slow it all way down and see what you feel. That's today's thought and practice - tomorrow, "Find Where You Shine".

Give thanks and praise - and share what's giving you wonder today!

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Authenticity - Are You Hiding Your Thorns?

5/10/2012

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Wow, sorry!! I guess I took about a week off there! Thanks for your patience, consider me back at it!

Put a lot of effort into GaneshFest and what an incredible gathering it was!! I still am high from all the love, vibrations, prana and soul-sweetness that I felt there. So eternally grateful for my co-creators and collaborators, and in fact, just spent much of this last week sitting in gratitude. Letting it settle in, make sense, feel good - oh, and yes, some deep long naps, and some crazy number-crunching to bring it all to close!

I wouldn't trade that experience for the world! In fact, I'm super buoyed by the amount of positive feedback and buy-in... so many folks, both those who attended and those who created, are asking 'what's next?'. I am as well! I think this community and the work we can do is clear; now we need to focus on how to continue that service, and how to uplift our entire group! I'm excited for the challenge!

One pleasure of the weekend was watching such a diverse group of folks, who really share so much in common, connect, share, get real, and be authentic. We had Asthangis, Flowers, Kundalinis, and of course, the ever popular 'yoga mutts' - just breathing, hanging, practicing and being together. That resonance, and the conversations I had, lead me to this post - a post on 'authenticity'.

If you read me much, by now you know I love language and linguistics. Not only because I see so much of the PIE (Proto Indo-European) cognates run from Sanskrit to both the Romance and the Teutonic/Norse language groups, but also because words are like asanas. They contain so much
inherent information; if we simply explore the foundations, then the expressions mean so much more.

Authenticity - being yourself, being true to yourself, being authentic... ok, let's go deeper.

authentic (adj.) mid-14th century first usage, meaning "authoritative"

This comes down from the Old French root, autentique - then, down from the 14th century into Modern French authentique.

The word came into Old French via the words "authentic; canonical," which are directly from Middle Latin -  authenticus. This comes to Latin, from the Greek word  authentikos meaning "original, genuine, principal," which itself is a conjugate of authentes, or "one acting on one's own authority,"

This breaks down really directly, from autos "self" + hentes "doer, being,". Like I mentioned before, go back far enough and you get to PIE, where we have the root *sene- "to accomplish, achieve."

Ok, so you're 'self-being' and that makes you some level of acting from one's own authority; let's look at that.


authority (noun) from the Old French auctorité "authority, prestige, right, permission, dignity, gravity". I like that! From the Old French of the 12th century down to Modern French, the word is autorité. This was influenced from the Latin -  auctoritatem (the nominative is auctoritas) and means "invention, advice, opinion, influence, command,". From this same root, we get the Latin auctor  or "master, leader, author".

Authentic  also indicates "accomplishment" and "achievement", so let's dive into those, briefly:

accomplish (verb) from the late 14th century word in Old French -  acompliss-, the stem of acomplir "to fulfill, fill up, complete". This was refined from the 12th century Vulgate Latin word  *accomplere. This is formed via the Latin ad- "to"  + complere "fill up" (think of "complete").

achieve (verb) from the early 12th century word in Old French - achever,  "to finish, accomplish, complete". This comes from the phrase à chef (venir) "at an end, finished". We also see this in the Vulgate Latin -  *accapare, from Late Latin - ad caput (venire); both the French and Late Latin phrases share the literal meaning "to come to a head," from stem of Latin caput "head" (think cap, as in ballcap; think Capitol, as in the head of government; think Kapala Bhati as in "Skull Shining!).

The way I read it, authenticity is taking responsibility for being exactly who we are, and acting from that sense of purpose. It means we should find dignity and gravity in our composure, and that we should become leaders - either to self, or to those who may need guidance.

It also contains the principle of fulfillment; of the joy that is found in truly being the self. In allowing others to love your entirety, rather than deciding what to share with whom, from guilt, shame or concern of judgment. Simply to be, and to be fulfilled - to be complete, to come to a head.

This is a noble goal, and kinda scary. That means maybe you find out your yoga teacher loves a beer now and again... that's ok, if they're authentic - but if there are shame games, or "do as I say, not as I do", or even subterfuge, that is denying our wholeness, our self, our divinity - the nature of our authenticity.

And, as a friend reminded me - being authentic is like being bald and accepting it... which means, you don't worry about which 'hat you are wearing' or when to switch them. You don't have to be this person, then that, and then one in the middle when two worlds collide. You don't have to remember what language and words to use, if you don't edit yourself to the occasion.

It's a tough mission; I've seen some incredible examples in the past two weeks and I'm renewed in my desires and emboldened in my actions to come to a place that is authentic ,caring and sharing. I just gotta be me, wouldn't wish it on anyone else!! And, if I'm gonna be me, I've gotta get better at it, everyday! That's the plan!

How are you feeling about that? Do you notice authentic folks in your life, or on the contrary, have you begun to notice when it doesn't feel solid? When folks don't seem to be who they are?

Do you notice the tendency in your own life to 'become someone else' in an alternate situation? Are you one way with friends, one with family, one with co-workers? Just think on it, notice what it might be about...

Then, give thanks and praise - feel complete and bring it to a head!


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Collaboration - A Form of Yoga... or Linking Two Forces for the Good of All...

25/9/2012

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Sorry, been a little bit - I've been having some busy days getting ready for GaneshFest!! Have you purchased your tickets, yet?? You can do so here - we're looking to have a full house, to raise spirits, funds, consciousness and the roof!!

If you were in the ATX this past week, we've had some good things going on. We were one of the cities globally that hosted an event and held the BeThePeace gathering, hosted by LOVEATX, this past Friday night.


Check that link and go to the photos of the event, some really incredible moments captured in there! Hundreds of like-minded folks came together to do yoga, to celebrate in a moment of planetary community, to chant together, to march together and to meditate together!

I had the pleasure of co-leading the yoga session with my newest collaborator, Joshua Sukhbir. We were those Facebook friends, you know, with many common friends and similar tastes, and I'm sure we liked each others posts! But, until Thursday afternoon of last week, we hadn't met or rapped in person; so we did just that!
 
It was great - I love working with other yogis all the time, but this was particularly sweet! I know his training background and he is in my lineage of teachers and from my 'world.' So, we easily created common space, and just started talking about what we wanted to bring to the yoga, what our message was, and how that related to Peace.

Didn't take long, we just shared some thoughts, some anecdotes, agreed and hit some resonances pretty early on, and then just agreed to play it by ear, and by eye. I'd have to say, that this is my favorite way of collaborating - find and share common ground, then just play with what arises in that laboratory! And, we did!

Our shared message was that 'One cannot fight for Peace' - we can't force it, enforce it, or expect it if we are fighting people; nor could we continue with language that separates, makes other into 'other' and doesn't recognize both the divinity within, and the struggles and traumas imposed from without! Our messages were from our own perspective, but supported and complemented the other. The folks got into the groove and let go - there were times where one of us simply finished a sentence, turned his head, made eye contact and the other just picked right up. Again, feels like true collaboration - no leading, no following, just syncing and sharing.

We were able to bring folks inside themselves, then connect folks to each other - we even did some standing assists as a complete group in our Trees - feeling the support, the community, and how struggle can become play, when shared. We did a lovely heart-to-heart meditation where we tried to imagine ourselves as others  and the other as our self. We did a healing circle, for those who attended and needed, but also for the world. We did a 'metta' - loving compassion - pranayama, and we simpy made linked community.

I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity and the community within which to collaborate. It's very satisfying, is most often done in the spirit of service, and it feels like we are changing a paradigm. From top-down to side-to-side...

That's part of my mission, and part of the entire conversation about Peace. Don't fight, work. Don't struggle, endure. And, make every change you can within yourself, and let that shine. Can you be the calm flame in the roaring fire? Can you be the soothing voice in the screaming tempest? Can you show peace, create it and make it obvious, in that others might find it?

Good work, good news - you can do it!! Give thanks and praise!


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Empty Mind - Mindfulness and the Paradox in Practice.

15/9/2012

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Brain Burned Away - Mindfully Empty...
I was thinking about this a lot this week, then teaching yesterday was a great opportunity to explore the idea and the theme a little more.

I know a lot of folks struggle with 'mindfulness' or 'meditation'. Perhaps more accurate to say they even struggle with the thought of the practice much more than the practice, if you see the nuance.

Meditation is a tough word, probably carries to much imagery and gravitas. Mindfulness works, I like it, but it provides a subtle paradox - what doesn't in this tradition? We want to be 'mindful', yet the problem is our mind if full - full of monkeys, full of ama (undigested sticky matter - the 'junk food' we watch, listen to, the drama, the shite), full of negative thoughts, full of projection and reflection... At least, that's what I experience.

When I came to the practice, it took me the requisite time to figure it all out. To get body awareness, learn left and right, be able to pay attention, to learn to listen, and to build bone density and basic upper body strength. After I got to the baseline, I was able to work deeper into the practice.

I moved into the more vigorous practices - Flow, Vinyasa, Ashtanga. It was in those practices that I found a way to apply the vigor, and the necessity of staying focused on transitions as a way to burn away the monkey mind, to find a bit of clarity, emptiness and solace. I noticed this to be true in my practice, and later to be true as a teacher. There is a student who presents to the vigorous practice because it takes that to wear away or to burn off the over-riding mind. Therein, those students find their quietude.

You teach from your practice - so I teach that. That's at the foundation of my perspective and it's what defines the tribe I serve. I've got to keep looking at how that might evolve, how that might grow, how that might continue to mature in it's service, both in my practice and in my teaching.

I've also recently really enjoyed teaching MBSR - Mindfulness, in atypical settings and non-yoga environments. More specifically, to folks who don't normally do yoga, or traditional meditative practices, or may not even be active. It's amazing, humbling and encouraging to watch the almost immediate changes this basic practice of mindfulness can bring - calmness, softened features, slower and more deliberate speech, presence, amity, and so much more. It's been a privilege to take these techniques and share them.

To the point of this post - for some of us, we're so full in the mind, so cluttered, so frenetic, that we need a deliberate practice, a threshold, perhaps even the gross sensation of vigor combined with focus, to burn away those thoughts, projections, reflections and assumptions. Then, to our surprise, there is a clarity afforded. Once the mind has been 'emptied', then we can be 'mind-ful'.

What helps me is ritual - routine, discipline. Doing Surya Namaskar is ideal. There is an inherent grace and rhythm to the kriya, and it easily becomes muscle memory. Therein, we have two choices... check out, or dive in. When our body knows what to do, we can often just drift away -  mind emptied. Ever arrived at work in your car, really not remembering any of the traffic lights or cross-traffic turns?? Hmmm.

But, if we take that same muscle memory, and the subtle disconnect that it affords, then we can truly train the freed attention to become the observer; not participant, not driver. And in that observation, become completely mindful - in true Mindfulness.

Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga - here's where they meet - 'undivided, uninterrupted, single-pointed focus that is sustained'. Make sense as an operational definition?? How does it work for you? Where do you find single-pointed mindfulness?

Give thanks and praise.

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    Chrispy - Bhagat Singh

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