nəməste
Posted: November 13, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Buddhism, compassion, crossfit, Divinity, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, god, Greeting, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Middle East, motivation, musings, Namaste, natural, nature, Omaha, Pakistan, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, Sanskrit, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 21 CommentsMankind’s biggest blunder, ignorance. Mankind’s second, infallible-
Chances are at the end of yoga practice, you awkwardly have heard fellow yogis use the word “nəməste“ with their hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards. Usually nəməste is associated with eastern religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Loosely translated from Sanskrit nəməste means: “The God in me recognizes the God in you” or “The Divinity within me perceives and adores the Divinity within you.”
The more I think about it and reflect on this greeting, the more I think its pretty cool. Just imagine if we were to interact with other(s) during the course of the day by basically stating that I honor, recognize and appreciate the divine within you? How could you not treat those around you ethically and with loving kindness?
…
I often lament about my time spent in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan. As-salam alaykum (Muslim) carries great weight in my heart as a greeting of “peace be upon you.” Back in ‘Murica though, greetings such as Hi, Hello, How’s it going, Sup Bro and so forth are frivolous. These wasted greetings really don’t communicate much, they are not dense with meaning and purpose. A friendly greeting of any kind and one of peace is certainly fine. Although, I have come to be especially fond of the nəməste greeting, given what the word actually means. nəməste offers a more enriching and important message to me.
Maybe we all should embrace nəməste regardless of our spiritual, religious tradition or what part of the world we are in?
Daily Meditation:
Doing the right thing for ourselves and others means finding a way to see the sacred, the divine, within all. May nəməste serve as a constant reminder to do this. If you witness sacredness in some cool folks today? Chances are then you are likely to treat them with compassion, care, and respect …
नमस्ते
Bla(me)
Posted: November 12, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Basic goodness, Blame, blogging, compassion, exercise, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, perspective, pilates, Religion and Spirituality, running, trail running, whole foods, writing, yoga 3 CommentsSome people’s blameless lives are to blame for a good deal-
May this post serve as a fertile metaphor for rediscovering our basic goodness …
For us to recognize and acknowledge our basic goodness we need to first peel away the layers of “whatever” it is that hides us from our true selves.
The first layer to peel away, which I have picked at many of times, is developing and nurturing a certain sense of self-compassion. Self-compassion (for me) comes from an understanding of what I am actually feeling in any given moment: Anxiety, Fear, Pride, Having a Pity Party … Understanding my motivation(s) is integral to moving from an attitude of sadness to one of happiness.
Daily Meditation:
We create our prison, yet we also hold the key.
Something to ponder this week.
Behind the Scene(s)
Posted: November 8, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Activism, Bliss, Buddhism, compassion, exercise, family, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, peace, perspective, pilates, Poetry, running, simplicity, trail running, whole foods, writing, yoga, Zen 10 CommentsThe only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance-
In writing this blog-o-thing, I am doing what many other passionate and authentic people do: Taking the flow of my daily struggles and sharing it openly with you. The conversation we often have, like life; Is chaotic, awkward, tedious and associative.
I don’t know how to convey my feelings at times, words stumble from my fingertips and fall deftly onto the screen. Like life itself, this flow, this blog … YOU … Are intrinsically nourishing.
I can’t look YOU in the eye this morning, to find the courage to say “I am fully there” … This awkward awareness serves as my antidote to urgency and anger.
With your caring, continued support. I know without any shred of doubt, that my contribution here will be forever useful to the extent I can shift from being motivated by the desire to see results in my life: Likes, Follows, How long I can hold a pose, Being the best dad, A better lover, A better friend …
Dependence on results cannot but compromise my True Strength.
Daily Meditation:
Sometimes what’s most painful for me is the conviction I have of just how simple it would be … To love and share enough to satisfy everyone’s basic needs; to create a flow of kindness.
así (que) sin
Posted: November 6, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Alternative, blogging, compassion, Curiosity, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 7 CommentsI set out to discover the why of it, and to transform my pleasure into knowledge-
I ask myself this morning, running in from the rain:
What does it take to receive myself with an open heart?
Every encounter we have during the day, life changes us. Every fleeting experience rewires a part of our consciousness. We are constantly changing. To truly befriend ourselves, to be open to who and what we are, we can practice the willingness to discover ourselves anew.
What do we actually know about our intimate selves? We have “experts” who flippantly tell us what is “right” and “wrong.” We have “standards” that we are “supposed” to meet, against which other people will measure us. We have competitions we can enter that will allow us to “win” and to “lose.”
To discover ourselves requires us to look at who we are without bias and certainly without judgment(s). It requires us not to measure, not to compete. It requires us to receive ourselves with the willingness to discover ourselves, just as we are, right now, with a pure heart.
Daily Meditation:
Practice befriending yourself, open your hearts in receptive curiosity.
Better (Off)
Posted: November 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, perspective, pilates, Rumi, running, trail running, Vinyāsa, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 14 CommentsYour task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it–
In the pedantic game of tennis “love” is a score of zero. Implying that when we’re in love the score is even, our hearts are content and all is well in life. However, how often do we keep a competitive score in our relationships with those who love us, the person next to us in yoga class, running a race … Who can find the best parking spot this holiday season?
Instead of comparing myself constantly and competing against others I challenged myself to compare “me” in this moment, to the person I was one year ago. Am I kinder, happier, more confident and peaceful? If not, I take a deep breath to explore what has caused me to lose focus, and how I might learn moving forward.
I’ve found that by trying to keep the score zero in my life, trying being a key word … By giving generous doses of gratitude, making caring gestures to other(s) daily, witnessing the passion and abundance growing around each one of us? Is an inspiring “thing“.
Daily Love Meditation:
Keep a loving score today. Count how many times you utter something loving and positive …
CultFit 