Friday, December 31, 2010

Out with the old - in with the new?

One Love Newsletter 2011
As I reflect back on the past year there are more than a few things I've learned:

1.  I can do a lot.
2.  I get burned out doing a lot.
3.  I don't have to do everything.
4.  Sometimes opportunities arise and I don't necessarily have to take them.
5.  I would rather have peace that be "productive."
6.  I don't know when my last good-bye to someone is.
7.  I make up the rules most of the time and then I have to live by them.
8.  If I want more time with my friends or family, I have to give up something else, and this shouldn't be a hard choice.  Either way, I win.
9.  Maybe if I make my list smaller, I'd allow myself the opportunity to fully and completely dedicate myself to a task and feel more confident about my choices.
10.  Maybe if I look at my choices, I'd feel more confident about my life.
11.  Maybe if I feel confident about my life, I don't have to question my choices.
12.  If I believe in a universe that has a certain order to it and is constantly adjusting to that order, I wouldn't question those weird instances but look at them as "adjustments" to bring about a change.
13.  Maybe I could stop questioning the process and trust more.
14.  If I trust more, peace is in the process.

15.  This list could go on forever but it won't.

Happy New Year.

When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you'll find something solid to stand on
Or you'll be taught how to fly!

—Richard Bach

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas thoughts

A complicated time of year.   I went into a store yesterday and became very, very, present.  I made my way slowly, patiently and carefully through a crowded parking lot and a crowded store.  I watched as people often mindlessly rushed through, if you weren't watching where they were going, they were going to run into you.  And then there were those that were not mindless but intentionally "I will mow you down to get through this store."

I saw a quote today on Judith Hanson Lasater's Facebook Page "No one has to change for you to be happy.

What I saw was a lot of people.  A lot of different people.  There for different reasons.  Some a little more miserable than others.  But a lot of people similar to me, politely making their way through a very busy store.  When there's more of us around, we can see bad behavior.  But we can also see our inner light.  The ones saying "excuse me" or smiling or allowing people to cut ahead in line when they have fewer items.  It's been my experience that whenever I feel like that I'm not going to get what I want or what I think I deserve, or be cheated out of something that I act exactly like that and it pervades my consciousness and therefore the interactions in my life. 



Yesterday, my heart opened a little wider.  Maybe someday, we'll all get what we think we need.  Or realize we have exactly what we need right now.

Peace & Blessings to you all. 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Moon Days - A Yoga Holiday

In my own practice or my own experience of life, I've noticed, perhaps a coincidence or not, that when the moon is full things happen.  When I worked as a waitress on the Full Moon, we would know that there would be unusual circumstances and unusual people.  People would come in and we'd be quite convinced that perhaps they came from another universe.  It would be people that we never saw before and never would see again.  

In the Ashtanga tradition, there is no practice on Full or New Moon days.  The theory behind Full moon is that the gravitational pull is stronger and we are affected by this pull, in ways of being less grounded, more headstrong.  On New Moons, our energy is lower.  As I don't always pay attention to my inner signals, this year I may pay attention to these days and perhaps not practice if that opportunity avails itself to me.  But as tomorrow brings two classes to teach in the morning, I may pay attention to my students and see if any of this corresponds.

As we approach the Winter Solstice, which also coincides with a lunar eclipse, I wonder what things may come.  The next 48 hours should be enlightening....

Monday, December 13, 2010

The big unknown

I had a friend pass recently, unexpectedly to everyone except for him.  In the days preceding his death, he passed along a box to a neighbor saying if he didn't make it back give it to his family.  When friends went out to his car to get it in the parking lot, all of his vehicle titles were on the front seat.  His home was in complete order, except for his storage buildings which are apparently a complete mess.  He was a pack-rat, had multiple items that he had picked up for free or nearly free and had a lot that he had given away but a lot that he kept.  He was known for getting amazing deals on everything.  He had given me (2) toasters at one time, I think he had six of them.  So in cleaning out the outbuildings, his family and friends are finding an abundance of stuff, all crammed in with other things that are possibly important.  Which is, post-humorously, humorous.  As though he left everything important and the rest to give his family and close friends a good laugh. Including leaving the toilet clogged, knowing his best friend would have to unclog it.

We all have different beliefs and faiths about life after death.  We have different thoughts and these get tested when someone close to us passes.  We question ourselves, our beliefs and in our mourning and loss, ponder our own existence.  Where will we really go when we're gone and is there anything beyond this carbon-based existence. 

My friend was an athiest.  He had had prior poor experiences with various religions that made him not belief in anything.  Which, in my opinion, is a beautiful place to be.  When given the choices of junk, choose none of it.  We had conversations.  One of the ideas that he liked that I shared is that the universe has an order to it.  There is an order that alludes to the possibility of an intelligence behind that order.  My astronomy teacher had said that when we looked at the stars and the heavens and how math and physics play such a huge part in our ability to see that far.  As we evolve in our knowledge and consciousness and see outside of this planet, exploring beyond our own boundaries and borders, both physically and spiritually, we continue this evolution. 
The more we try to define and categorize, the more our definitions and categories will define us and then eventually become obsolete.  Can I continue to look at the world with awe and wonder, reaching beyond what I know and giving in to the possibilities?  The unknown. 

Death is the big unknown.  It is the very thing that we will all have to contend with.  The experience that at this point, we can't share with others on the physical plane.  Or so most of us think.  As the days and weeks go one, I will be listening for those things that can't be verified but may very well be my friend communicating with us from the great beyond.  Or maybe there will be none.  

So my message although not entirely original is this "So long Wade and thanks for all the toasters..."