Filed under: Uncategorized
We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.
–Talmud
Filed under: healing
This article from the Harvard Mental Health letter tells about the current research linking yoga with improved symptoms of depression and anxiety. This is obviously something that most of us yogis already know, but if you have doubters in your family or circle of friends, direct them to this article!
Filed under: Book Discussions
Have you always wished that you had a collection of all the sayings of all your favorite wise people?? This is the book for you! Instead
of having a bunch of different books you go to for inspiration, Wes Nisker has collected a lot of little wisdom gems and put them together in one big collection. I think you’ll find that this is a book you read, but then go back to again and again for little encouragements and tidbits. Let me know what you think! Here’s a quote to get you started:
“There is no end to the weighing of things, no stop to time, no constancy to the division of lots, no fixed rule to beginning and end. Therefore great wisdom observes both far and near, and for that reason recognizes small without considering it paltry, recognizes large without considering it unwieldy, for it knows that there is no end to the weighing of things.”
Filed under: Book Discussions
I’m sorry it has taken me so long to talk about “Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate”. I’m flummoxed at how to talk about this book, because it’s….well…..TERRIBLE!!! I hope some of you like it, and then maybe we can have a lively discussion about it.
I found Brad Warner (the author) extremely annoying and self serving. It’s like the difference between Stephen Colbert and all those OTHER shows where they try to be funny. He tries to be self-deprecating and have a sassy relationship with the reader. But truly, I was kind of offended at times. I wanted to say “Hey! You can’t talk to me like that!”
Here are some examples:
“Some things never change, and never will. I’m sorry if you don’t like that, but it happens to be true.”
(talking about this book) “People who wanted to keep their belief in gurus and perfected masters would hold on tight to their illusions. For them all my talk about my own failings would only be evidence that I wasn’t as fully enlightened as their great heroes. F**k ‘em. Maybe a few people out there would get it, and that would be enough.”
“There was no other Buddhist teacher like me in America. And gosh darn it all, someone like me was absolutely necessary. And too bad if you don’t like hearing that.”
Sooo, the point of the book seems to be to utterly highlight was a total idiot a Buddhist teacher can be – and then we’re supposed to really admire him for being such a jerk. I know my teachers aren’t perfect…he seems to think we are all too dumb to know that. But I do like to think that when my teachers mess up (especially if it’s real bad) they feel some sort of remorse, or even shame — and then try to do better.
He feels none of these things. And too bad if you don’t like it.
Anyone want to argue with me on this one??
Lisa…
We have the pleasure of hosting April Gallagher on the first Monday of every month for a class on Simple Living. April is a professional organizer and a certified Feng Shui professional and she is amazing.
Last month and this month, April taught about – hold your breath – Clutter! Yea baby, that means you! Very few of us escape the issue of clutter. Our lives in California are so affluent compared to the rest of the world, and clutter is often a by-product of that affluence. I don’t think I have one friend who has not had to deal with the problem of clutter.
If the issues around clutter were simply about keeping up with being tidy, we wouldn’t keep accumulating more clutter and feeling aversion to the disaray in our living spaces. In truth, we hold an energetic attachment to everything in our living space. And energetically clutter begets more clutter. Our external world reflects our internal world. Clutter equals resistance, and clearing that cutter creates more space and new opportunities.
April had us walk mentally through our houses, writing down the areas of clutter that affect us the most. She encouraged us to start with the smallest on the list, not the biggest. Learning to deal with clutter is like building a muscle, it takes time.
Last month during class, I had an epiphany when April said “Creating clutter is just delayed decision making.” That has been going through my mind this month every time I’m about to set down papers on top of a pile, or throw my clothes on the floor. Make the decision NOW. It has brought me into the present moment over and over every time I shift my energy into decisions as small as wear to set my plate or shoes or calendar. It has given me so much more power in my life. One small, simple thing has made such a difference – decide now!
Yesterday, April led us into the world of clutter and Feng Shui. She introduced the concepts of energetic patterns within the house, what they mean and how to work with your space to create more harmony and balance.
I can’t wait for next month, we’re learning about organization!
On Wednesdays at The Dog we have a yoga class for little kids, and then a Tween class for the bigger kids. Normally, my Kieran and Lisa’s son (BFF of frantic proportions) take the little kids class and goof off and derail the little ones, then retreat into the babysitting room to engage in the plug-in-drug of choice: their DS’s.
Lisa and I teamed up and played bad cop, telling the boys they weren’t allowed to play DS and that they needed to be in the big kids class. It was awesome! My little kids class was SO much better behaved. There was even a little two year old in there who was SO good. In the Tween class, the two boys hung tough flinging their bodies awkwardly in space, landing with a bump and grunting a lot. They put in so much effort and didn’t know when to stop so I’m afriad they’ll hurt themselves! They were pretty good and matured more as the class went on. All of the kids laid down for a full 5 minute savasana and took it very seriously. I consider that a success. Seriously, 8 kids resting peacefully of their own free will and choice for 5 minutes?
During class the boys were complaining that it “hurt”. I was trying to explain that stretching is supposed to create sensation and that it’s not all a bad thing. Kieran said, “Yea! My PE teacher at school said when you want to stop, that’s your brain telling you to stop. Your body wants to keep moving.”
Go public school!
Filed under: Uncategorized
I read this in meditation class the other day – and posted it on my Facebook. Everyone seems to love it, so here it is again!
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
~Derek Walcott, Love After Love
Filed under: Book Discussions
That’s the new book we’re reading!! Knew I’d getcha with the title! Ok, so “A Year to Live” was a bit heavy for some of us. I can deal with heavy subjects and even I had a little bit of a hard time with it!
So this is much more entertaining – written by a Zen master who went through divorce, deaths, dating, etc. all in one year, and wrote the tale! Hopefully there are some nuggets of wisdom in there, but even if it’s just entertaining, that’s ok too!
We have a couple of copies available at the studio (more coming!), or you can order online!! Enjoy! We’ll be discussing soon — (as soon as I can read a few chapters!)
Lisa…
Filed under: Book Discussions
Here are some quotes from the book that I have enjoyed lately:
It can be hard to die when we have forgotten so often that we are alive.
One day we will realize how much of our life is a compulsive attempt to escape discomfort. We are motivated more by an aversion to the unpleasant than by a will toward truth, freedom, or healing.
Our next moment of grasping, hell. Our next instant of letting go, heaven.
When attempts at control become a prison, only letting go of control will result in freedom.
Further, on page 62, there is a meditation you can practice, called “Preparation to Die, or Meditate, Whichever Comes First”. As most of you might know, I’ve been meditating every day of 2009 for 1/2 hour. This evening I brought the book in with me and went through this meditation example. It was quite a profound experience, very deep. I read on afterwards, and I’m looking forward to more meditations throughout this book. I’d love to hear from anyone else who tries this meditation. It’s long, but I can also reprint it here if you don’t have the book or can’t get it. It’s really quite wonderful.
