11/24/2019
Weekly words 11.17.19Psychologist Viktor Frankl was the sole member of his family to survive the Nazi death camps. Nevertheless, he found a path of healing in spite of this suffering.
Frankl wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number but offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Homework: Read Chapter 1 of "The Wise Heart" by Jack Kornfield, beginning with the story of the gold Buddha. This week invite the Golden/Orange Zone of Possibility! 11/13/2019
Our Weekly Words 11.13.19On 11-10-18 our Shala community committed to one year of the Metta Meditation. The intention of the practice was to raise the vibration and light in our lives and the lives of our families, friends and community. It has been a powerful year of transformation and love.
On this anniversary, 11-10-19, let us all commit to another year of raising the light and vibration! Sit in silence. With eyes closed, imagine a light coming from a huge, extravagant source. See the light move through the top of your head and into your entire body, filling and surrounding you with vibrant light. When you feel the energy in and around you, offer your prayer: May I be filled with love and kindness. May I be safe from inner and outer danger. May I be vibrantly healthy in mind, body and spirit. May I be at ease and at peace. May I receive this light and be a light in the world. See and feel the light around you grow and expand to a larger orb of energy surrounding you. Welcome the ones you love. Invite your family, friends, pets, people you love on the other side into the light. Offer your prayer: May you be filled with love and kindness. May you be safe from inner and outer danger. May you be vibrantly healthy in mind, body and spirit. May you be at ease and at peace. May you receive this light and be a light in the world. Extending the light beyond your orb of loved ones. Include people you feel have hurt you, misunderstood you, those that have a different perspective on life, those you find a challenge to love. May you be filled with love and kindness. May you be safe from inner and outer danger. May you be vibrantly healthy mind, body and spirit. May you be at ease and at peace. May you receive this light and be a light in the world. Together our prayers and energy will make the world brighter. "Go through the day as if you were the Dali Lama undercover." -Jack Kornfield Homework: Join us and commit to practicing our Pacific Ashtanga Metta Meditation through this new year. Receive and send love and light daily through this beautifully simple but powerful practice. Observe with gratitude when shifts begin to show up. Namaste. 11/4/2019
Our Weekly Words 11.4.19Inspired by Paul Manship’s Sundial ~Time and Fates of Man Lean into your future of possibility with outstretched arms, extend your heart and throat, take risks. Stand strong and firm in the present moment of now, and release the past. As John O’Donohue said in For Longing : “May your heart never be haunted by ghost-structures of old damage.” I Wish You More
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld I wish you more ups than downs. I wish you more give than take. I wish you more tippy toes than deep. I wish you more we than me. I wish you more hugs than ughs. I wish you more WOO-HOO than WHOA! I wish you more will than hill. I wish you can than knot. I wish you more snowflakes than tongue. I wish you more pause than fast forward. I wish you more umbrella than rain. I wish you more bubbles than bath. I wish you more treasures than pockets. I wish you more stories than stars. I wish all this for you, ‘cause you are everything I could wish for... ...and more. 10/29/2019
Our weekly words 10.29.19For Longing
by John O'Donohue To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings Blessed be the longing that brought you here And quickens your soul with wonder. May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe. May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease To discover the new direction your longing wants you to take. May the forms of your belonging—in love, creativity, and friendship-- Be equal to the grandeur and the call of your soul. May the one you long for long for you. May your dreams gradually reveal the destination of your desire. May a secret Providence guide your thought and nurture your feeling. May your mind inhabit life with the sureness with which your body inhabits the world. May your heart never be haunted by ghost-structures of old damage. May you come to accept your longing as divine urgency. May you know the urgency with which God longs for you. 10/23/2019
Our weekly words 10.20.19“Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” -Lao Tzu "Practice is a kind of universal and fundamental skill that is applicable to everything... By being occupied with the doing instead of the achieving, you can stop worrying about the end result... then we can start focusing on the activity of learning, on doing the doing, in full enjoyment of doing." -Kasper van der Meulen This week we continued to discuss Kasper’s book, “Mindlift,” and Diana shared personal stories from her Wim Hof training and her time learning from Kasper. Her excitement over the cells, nervous system and molecular science of it all informed her teachings on the Vagus Nerve and her incorporation of innovative modalities that support a healthy nervous system. When facing anxiety, stress, depression... learning to center your mind and utilize your body’s built-in medicine cabinet is a natural and accessible way to shift from your sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system. From “fight or flight,” to “rest and digest.” We are reminded that our 2 hours of focused breath, movement and drishti on our mat each day should be positively affecting the other 22 hours in the day. This is our time to refill our own cup... to downshift... to quiet ourselves down and be truly present. We are designed to live fully (to be chased by tigers, so to speak), but we are also designed to REST (to return to our “cave”). This retreat is what supports us as we begin to move out of our habitual patterns. We shift from focusing on talent to focusing on effort. Instead of practicing with a goal, we are aiming to be good at practicing. Keep in mind that what you practice is what you become good at. Instead of practicing complaining and worrying, we could be practicing gratitude and love. What do you hope to practice this year? |