Body · Mind · Spirit · Yoga

“When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady.  But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.”

~Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Magical Thinking 

Did you grow up believing in magic, magical places, and beings?

Did the world seem like a place full of magic, wonder, a place where anything could happen, a world where anything is possible?

Somewhere on the path of growing into mature functioning adults, we stop believing the world is  place of wonder. For some of us the world becomes mundane, a struggle or a place full of dangers we need to manage or control. 

Remember the first time you realized no santa, no tooth fairy, easter bunny or unicorns.

No magic.

Yet, how else can we explain the wonder of the simple act of breathing, seemingly inhaling nothing and animating your entire body, from nothing comes something. Billions of neurons firing through your brain connecting thoughts, feelings, emotions and memories. The intelligence that tells every cell to divide and multiply, creating you and the world around you. Intelligence that creates stars, planets, universes and galaxies. Quantum Mechanics tells us that through our attention, we create our reality. Not only is magic at play all round us, we are that magic.

So next time you find yourself wondering if there really is any magic in this world, think of the mythical unicorn, a one of a kind, magical creature.  

You my friend are that unicorn.

Isn't it time you galloped though magical fields?

"Death is the stripping away of all that is not you. The secret to life is to 'die before you die' - and find there is no death."

~Eckhart Tolle

Imagine Just Letting Go

Ever try to capture a moment and put it in a bottle, or try to stop the seasons from changing? It just can't be done. The simple truth is that everything of this world is subject to change. Change is the only constant. You are subject to change. Your body changes, your circumstances change. You are quite literally not the same person you were a year ago, physically, emotionally or in your life circumstances. With all this change we have the choice of moving with the flow of change or resisting it.

To allow change requires letting go. Letting go of our attachments of wanting things to stay the same. Letting go of our mental constructs of how we believe things should be. Our homes, automobiles, lifestyles, even our loved ones. We want them to stay the same. We create memories, positive impressions of events in space and time. We personalize them and identify ourselves with these past impressions. We come to believe that these past impressions are somehow better than whatever is happening now.

Change can be scary and the uncertainty of unknown outcomes in our life can be frightening. Now imagine letting go of the fear of the unknown. Letting the change flow, letting life become a joyous celebration of change. No fear, no attachment to a past that is gone forever. Honor the moment, the memory of it, by letting it go. Think of how much energy it takes to hold up all these attachments, beliefs. Imagine having all that energy at your disposal. Imagine letting things be as they are and letting the change just flow. Imagine then becoming the change that moves through your life. Consider your relationships, do you put those closest to you in a holding pattern, not wanting them to change? Imagine all the energy you would have to place somewhere creative, somewhere loving. Imagine how would it change your life, change the world, by becoming the change. Maybe all it really takes is letting go.

"To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour"

~William Blake

 Multi-tasking is really Multi-delusional

Recently, I overheard a nearby conversation, an exasperated woman in line exclaimed to her friend; "I don't know what's happening to me lately, but my multi-tasking skills have been terrible." I couldn't help but smile to myself. It is interesting that we are under the belief that we can do several things at once, and even more so, that we believe that we can do them well.

Our brains operate much like a computer. Computers use the numbers one and zero, switching back and forth between these two numbers. They are never on both numbers at the same time, because no two things can occupy the same space at the same time. When a computer has too many tasks demanding it to move back and forth between the numbers (like shifting your attention) it actually slows down, even freezes or crashes.

We too divide our attention back and forth between multiple tasks, the more tasks we divide our attention among, the less focus we can give to the current task at hand. Attention is love. Give or receive attention, the object of the attention feels loved, cared for, and special in that moment. When someone is giving you just a small part of their attention, perhaps multi-tasking, you don't feel loved, in fact you feel the opposite of small, unseen or unimportant.

Consider where you place your own attention. Is it split into little segments, never truly focused upon one thing for more than a few seconds? How well are you really performing the tasks you need to attend to, and how does this affect the quality of your relationships?

Next time you find yourself "multi-tasking", ask yourself which one of your tasks is being under-served, which relationship is being neglected.

 "On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear."

~Bhagavad-Gita

The Beginners Mind

How many times you have repeated a fondly remembered experience, only to find yourself disappointed? In fact, the more we do something, the more disappointing the outcome seems to be, the more it becomes mundane. The "first time" brought such satisfaction and joy, yet when we try to repeat or recreate the experience we usually end up disappointed. We think with pleasure about our first love, the first kiss, the first time visiting a new and exotic land. We may even find ourselves repeating that old adage: "the first time was the best."

How many times have you listened to someone while thinking: "been there, done that," or, "tell me something I don't know." How many times do you go somewhere and become bored by the familiar. Even our relationships are colored by past experience. Was the first time really the best it is ever going to be, or are we just coloring time through the filter of the past? In yoga we use the term "Beginner's Mind." Meaning to go into an experience, no matter how many times we have experienced it, as though it were the first time. Yoga and Meditation teach us to be in the now, not to let every moment be colored by the past. To live in the now, to bring a "Beginners mind" to every experience. There is a treasure to be found in the present moment, perhaps it is something to be learned that we didn't hear before, or seeing someone we think we know in a whole new perspective, experiencing our routine in a different way.

If we can see the world through beginner's eyes, and bring a beginner's mind into every moment, we will remain in the now, open to the opportunity the universe is unfolding before us. Ultimately, this is the only time this moment will exist in space and time, and right where you stand now is the first and the last time all these components will come together, making every moment the first time.

Bring a beginner's mind to every moment and transform the ordinary into gold.

"One gradually attains tranquility of mind by keeping the mind fully absorbed in the Self by means of a well-trained intellect, and thinking of nothing else."

~Bhagavad-Gita

Stop Thinking?

Can you remember a time when you were not thinking? Not thinking about your job, Not about your money. Not about your car, house, family or any of your posessions?

Was there ever a moment when you weren't thinking about something that happened in your past, or something that might happen in your future?

Thinking no thoughts? Most of us would say "No, of course not! To not think is just crazy!

You can't think of nothing!"

But the truth is you can... Imagine, nothing. No money, no problems. Nowhere to go, nothing to do. When you think of no-thing , all that remains is NOW.

That is what being in the present moment, being in the now is all about. This is the heart of meditation.

Thinking of no-thing.

Imagine stopping all the stress-inducing some-things, coming to rest in no-thing?

No external-thing.

No-things for just a few minutes.

Imagine giving yourself that space. Imagine giving yourself that kindness.

Be kind to yourself each day.

Give yourself the gift of no-thing. Meditate.

When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world.

~B.K.S. Iyengar

What Moves Your Heart?

Often we hear the expression "Home is where the heart is". These are wise words that ring with truth. With Valentine's Day just around the corner I can't help but wonder if we wouldn't be better served by asking ourselves what moves our hearts? Is it a lover's embrace, is it family, job, money? Consider the term "heartfelt"- Without the heart being actively involved in our motivations and undertakings, we are acting only out of habit or necessity. The heart is able to move nations, mountains and elevate the soul. Nothing that rouses us to great heights can occur without full engagement of our hearts. As you move through this Valentine's Day and go through your daily tasks take a moment to notice if your heart is involved or if are you moving unconsciously through your routine. See if you can engage your heart and elevate what seems mundane to be purposeful and inspired.