: Black Coffee :
Posted: January 5, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Body Image, compassion, family, gratitude, habits, icchā, Intention, meditation, New Year's, New Years Resolutions, passion, yoga 3 CommentsThings are always better in the morning-
Old habits … Die hard. Cultivating new and lasting passion … Feels elusive. Our habitual patterns in life create a repetitive stream of thoughts and behavior. Right now, today, in this vulnerable New Year … Is precisely where we get stuck. A fleeting resolution penned on a stained bar napkin simply is not enough; tacking upon a fresh breeze is required with the necessary energy to sustain it.
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Think for a moment of yourself floating in a vast ocean, on a sprout little sailboat. Maybe the faded name “Bering in Mind” is painted on the side … As you begin rigging your brightly colored sail, this effort on your part equals your intention to sail away into this inspiring day. Although, you are not setting a course, and technically “sailing,” without a little wind. This gentle wind you so desperately seek, is evocative of your icchā – your will. You will need both the sail and the wind in order to make it safely back to shore – You require both icchā and intention to achieve this goal …
Daily Meditation:
When we become invested in the change we desire? We commit to a turning point in our lives. Whether or not reading this blog – Your Blog – this morning can be considered a defining moment in your life, is up for a heated debate! However so, you made it here, and I am deeply grateful.
The End of This Year
Posted: December 31, 2014 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Belize, gratitude, Jack Ridl, kindness, life, New Year's, passion, Poetry, Prose, The End of This Year 13 Comments…
The best place to be is here,
at home, the two of us, while
others ski or eat out. It will be
quiet. We won’t watch the ball
fall, the crowd in Times Square.
They will celebrate while here
there is this night. Tomorrow
some will start over, or vow
to stop something; maybe try
again. Here the snow will
fall through the light over
the back door and gather
on the steps. We will hope
our daughter will be safe.
She will wonder what
the year will bring. Maybe
we will say a prayer.
Start Where : You : Are
Posted: December 30, 2014 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, Buddhism, Equanimity, love, meditation, New Year's, Omaha, passion, peace, WordPress, yoga, Zen 13 CommentsNobody can hurt me without my permission-
The dictionary loosely defines equanimity as “mental calmness and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.” Equanimity refers to a mind that is at peace even in the face of stressful and unpleasant experiences.
Many, if not all of us have experienced this dissatisfaction. The absence of peace arises from our longing for our live(s) to be different, even when we have absolutely no control over the particular circumstance(s) in question.
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After sharing my numerous injuries and “circumstances” with you over the past four or so years, I have spent countless posts lamenting, nauseously, for my life to be the way it was before the surgeons incisions healed. The constant complaining found in the archives here, have made me miserable to be around. Gradually, with the help of some amazing and caring people (like you) – I came to witness that our lives have their share of both joy and suffering, and the only way I could find peace again was to stop trying to change circumstances over which I had no control of, and instead, choosing to start where I am at in this beautiful moment.
When I see that I am not just suffering, when I am not just frustration or sadness. When I notice during yoga class I’m not super flexible or the perfect manifestation of a particular pose … Equanimity helps me to calmly wait for “things” to change.
Daily Meditation:
With equanimity, I try to start each day with where I am, looking around to see what life has to offer.
Waiting on the Corners
Posted: December 24, 2014 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: christmas, Donald Hall, family, friends, holidays, Poetry, Waiting on the Corners, winter 1 Comment…
Glass, air, ice, light,
and winter cold.
They stand on all the corners,
waiting alone, or in
groups that talk like the air
moving branches. It
is Christmas, and a red dummy
laughs in the window
of a store. Although
the trolleys come,
no one boards them,
but everyone moves
up and down, stamping his feet,
so unemployed.
They are talking, each of them,
but it is sticks and stones
that hear them,
their plans,
exultations,
and memories of the old time.
The words fly out, over
the roads and onto
the big, idle farms, on the hills,
forests, and rivers
of America, to mix into silence
of glass, air, ice, light,
and winter cold.
: Festivus :
Posted: December 23, 2014 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Festivus, Grievances, holidays, Omaha, yoga 19 CommentsI got a lot of problems with you people-
In the lighthearted tone of this “special” holiday, I would like to share my grievance(s) from the past year. I’ll wait, patiently, as you set up your aluminum Festivus poles and prepare for your feats of strength.
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Tailgating drivers, zombie like pedestrians, and folks who go one tarnished step beyond stealing spots reserved for the elderly and pregnant women – Pale in comparison to individuals running late to yoga class!
Daily Meditation:
Celebrating this truly brilliant holiday, allow me to close with a simple question – What irks you the most on a daily basis?!? Air your grievances below or at least write a comment in ALL CAPS and so markedly terrible, that some random inter-webs pecksniffian, will have the chance to complain about it!
CultFit 