Some might view meditation and yoga, and meditation in particular, as ways to avoid or escape from life and enter some “ideal” fairy-like world or fantasy.
I see it quite the opposite.
Meditation and yoga help me live life more fully and deeply.
It’s like plugging into the main circuit of the life energy or force.
You realize you are abuzz with the current of life!
You feel what it is like to say “I am alive!”
Explorers need their tools.
Birders their binoculars. Backpackers good shoes and of course their packs. River rafters a boat….
Yoga and meditation are tools to explore the nature of our being and of life itself.
We have a lifetime to explore!
The quiet is waiting for you.
We are the busy ones–busy minds… doing this, doing that… planning… sometimes at break-neck speeds, sometimes not.
Restorative yoga allows you to slow down, to unwind some the tight spring of your mind and body, to taste the quiet in your being.
We can’t all just hop on a plane and go lie on the beach at a moments notice when we need a real break from it all.
But we can try some restorative yoga anytime! Give yourself a moment. You just might find it to be your cup of tea!
Life’s always varying circumstance is like a never-ending roller coaster ride which may thrill or please us at times and at others sicken and even frighten us. On occasion, we may be anxious with it; at other times, not.
We cannot stop or control the roller coaster. We ride it to the grave.
Through meditation and yoga, we can transcend the ride for a bit and become its witness.
Herein, we can begin to discover and explore a lasting joy and peace not contingent on any circumstances, but a presence inherent in life itself, here now, in this human body.
It is paradoxical, perhaps, that in recognizing this joy, we find it has been with us all along, unrecognized in its many guises on this roller coaster of life.
Let go, and enjoy the ride!
Regularity has its benefits.
(I am talking about having a regular meditation practice!)
A daily practice is like a guaranteed rendezvous or date for two lovers–for a moment in every day to become one.
And to remind you, though you may be seemingly apart and forget one another in the business of the day, you are really never apart, but always one in your love.
There’s an ever-deepening silence at the center of this noisy world.
Listen to its whispers,
Feel the stillness of its presence.
Greet it with great love and respect.
Like a screeching hawk, dive in!
When my thoughts seem as distant as birds chirping outside, and the gurgles in the belly are as though in a far-off brook,
I know I am deep in silence.
I salute the sun
at its highest
both within and without,
not just today…
but every day….
Happy summer solstice!
There is no ideal way to put this.
It’s the best I can do at this time.
It’s my best effort now!
What would happen if this was more than good enough… and always has been?
What would happen?…
The chatter of our minds is abuzz with all kinds of thoughts and accompanying emotions and feelings.
Who will I pay attention to in this noisy room as they all vie for my limited attention and energy?
We can practice mindfully choosing which ones we put into action.
We can put our best efforts to mindfully choose those that uplift us and others–compassion, love, and joy…. to develop and act more and more on these in our lives.
Through meditation and yoga we can grow this capability.
Now this is a very worthy practice, don’t you think?
The Every Day Yogi 