Tonight, I won't be actually writing in my blog because in yoga tonight, I had the fortune of hearing this poem. It very much describes the place that I am in my life. Enjoy.
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
♥
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thinking with Both Your Heart and Mind
I'm not sure if these posts are becoming repetitive but I'm telling you, these little life lessons don't cease to amaze me. I read and heard about this lesson so I think that merits a blog entry. Yesterday I was reading "Eat Pray Love" and came across a part that must have struck a major chord with me because I read it 5 times in a row. It said:
"To find the balance you want this is what you must do. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart instead."
Then today, I was lucky enough to have a private yoga class. After my butt-kicking, I took some time to ask my instructor why we do certain things, like bringing your hands to heart center and inviting in light. We eventually got to the topic of the importance of thinking with your heart and mind as one instead of two totally separate thought processes.
I mean, think about it. Many people in this world spend most of their lives in a job simply for the "benefits" and being around friends that they only kind of like. Why?? To me, this sounds like self-inflicted torture. Why would you want such mediocrity in the only life you'll ever live? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with fear or a sense of comfort and security, but what about taking chances on something you actually WANT to do? The best way I can explain it is to quote what I read in an article:
"The main reason we suffer from this illness of indecision, is that we’ve mistaken the purpose of heart and mind. The heart is like a compass, it’s purpose is to guide the direction our lives should take. Our heart takes a birds eye view on our life and says 'this is where you’re at and this is the direction you need to go.'
Our mind on the other hand isn’t made for making purpose driven decisions. The nature of the mind is that it conceptualizes, organizes and compares information. It does this as best it can and says 'here are the facts, here’s both sides of the story.'
The mind should never be the judge. The mind's job is to compare and contrast. To sort things out and say “this is what I’ve got, do what you want with it.”
But more often than not, our mind isn’t doing that. Our mind is making our choices. What’s worse, is even when we don’t need our mind to be at work, it’s still going. Comparing and contrasting everything.
Have you ever wondered how to tell whether a decision is right? It seems so difficult, doesn’t it? But it becomes so easy when you think 'Is this choice going with me, or against me?' You’ll find that the right choice is immediately evident."
Earlier I mentioned that I asked my yoga instructor the purpose of bringing your hands to heart center. She told me that one hand represents the light, which is all the good in you and the other represents the shadows, which is the "not so good" in you. Bringing them together acknowledges that you accept that your light and shadows represent who you are as a person, and that we all have flaws. It was at that moment that I realized how much more at peace I am with myself since starting yoga 4 months ago.
So there you have it my fellow readers, though you may be few and far between. Whether you're thinking of moving to start (or share) a new life, find a job you love, discover a new hobby, or get in shape, listen to what your heart and mind have to say and things will eventually fall into place. I hope this entry did some good today.
Namaste-“I recognize that within each of us is a place where divinity dwells, and when we are in that place, we are one.”
♥
"To find the balance you want this is what you must do. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart instead."
Then today, I was lucky enough to have a private yoga class. After my butt-kicking, I took some time to ask my instructor why we do certain things, like bringing your hands to heart center and inviting in light. We eventually got to the topic of the importance of thinking with your heart and mind as one instead of two totally separate thought processes.
I mean, think about it. Many people in this world spend most of their lives in a job simply for the "benefits" and being around friends that they only kind of like. Why?? To me, this sounds like self-inflicted torture. Why would you want such mediocrity in the only life you'll ever live? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with fear or a sense of comfort and security, but what about taking chances on something you actually WANT to do? The best way I can explain it is to quote what I read in an article:
"The main reason we suffer from this illness of indecision, is that we’ve mistaken the purpose of heart and mind. The heart is like a compass, it’s purpose is to guide the direction our lives should take. Our heart takes a birds eye view on our life and says 'this is where you’re at and this is the direction you need to go.'
Our mind on the other hand isn’t made for making purpose driven decisions. The nature of the mind is that it conceptualizes, organizes and compares information. It does this as best it can and says 'here are the facts, here’s both sides of the story.'
The mind should never be the judge. The mind's job is to compare and contrast. To sort things out and say “this is what I’ve got, do what you want with it.”
But more often than not, our mind isn’t doing that. Our mind is making our choices. What’s worse, is even when we don’t need our mind to be at work, it’s still going. Comparing and contrasting everything.
Have you ever wondered how to tell whether a decision is right? It seems so difficult, doesn’t it? But it becomes so easy when you think 'Is this choice going with me, or against me?' You’ll find that the right choice is immediately evident."
Earlier I mentioned that I asked my yoga instructor the purpose of bringing your hands to heart center. She told me that one hand represents the light, which is all the good in you and the other represents the shadows, which is the "not so good" in you. Bringing them together acknowledges that you accept that your light and shadows represent who you are as a person, and that we all have flaws. It was at that moment that I realized how much more at peace I am with myself since starting yoga 4 months ago.
So there you have it my fellow readers, though you may be few and far between. Whether you're thinking of moving to start (or share) a new life, find a job you love, discover a new hobby, or get in shape, listen to what your heart and mind have to say and things will eventually fall into place. I hope this entry did some good today.
Namaste-“I recognize that within each of us is a place where divinity dwells, and when we are in that place, we are one.”
♥
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