A Final Affection
Posted: May 1, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Accomplishment, blogging, compassion, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, meditation, motivation, musings, nature, Omaha, passion, Paul Zimmer, perspective, Poetry, Power Yoga, Silence, trees, writing, Zen 4 Comments…
I love the accomplishments of trees,
How they try to restrain great storms
And pacify the very worms that eat them.
Even their deaths seem to be considered.
I fear for trees, loving them so much.
I am nervous about each scar on bark,
Each leaf that browns. I want to
Lie in their crotches and sigh,
Whisper of sun and rains to come.
Sometimes on summer evenings I step
Out of my house to look at trees
Propping darkness up to the silence.
When I die I want to slant up
Through those trunks so slowly
I will see each rib of bark, each whorl;
Up through the canopy, the subtle veins
And lobes touching me with final affection;
Then to hover above and look down
One last time on the rich upliftings,
The circle that loves the sun and moon,
To see at last what held the darkness up.
Pretty Halcyon Days
Posted: April 24, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, blogging, Coachella, harmony, Literature, love, nature, Nurture, Ogden Nash, Omaha, passion, Poetry, Pretty Halcyon Days, simplicity, Society, writing, yoga, Zen 5 Comments…
How pleasant to sit on the beach,
On the beach, on the sand, in the sun,
With ocean galore within reach,
And nothing at all to be done!
No letters to answer,
No bills to be burned,
No work to be shirked,
No cash to be earned.
It is pleasant to sit on the beach
With nothing at all to be done.
How pleasant to look at the ocean,
Democratic and damp; indiscriminate;
It fills me with noble emotion
To think I am able to swim in it.
To lave in the wave,
Majestic and chilly,
Tomorrow I crave;
But today it is silly.
It is pleasant to look at the ocean;
Tomorrow, perhaps, I shall swim in it.
How pleasant to gaze at the sailors,
As their sailboats they manfully sail
With the vigor of vikings and whalers
In the days of the viking and whale.
They sport on the brink
Of the shad and the shark;
If it’s windy they sink;
If it isn’t, they park.
It is pleasant to gaze at the sailors,
To gaze without having to sail.
How pleasant the salt anaesthetic
Of the air and the sand and the sun;
Leave the earth to the strong and athletic,
And the sea to adventure upon.
But the sun and the sand
No contractor can copy;
We lie in the land
Of the lotus and poppy;
We vegetate, calm and aesthetic,
On the beach, on the sand, in the sun.
Start Shootin’
Posted: April 18, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bikram, Bliss, Boston Marathon, Frugal, kindness, meditation, Omaha, passion, Power Yoga, Self Reflection, Serenity, yoga, Zen 5 CommentsI like giving gifts, but I like not spending money more–
It seems lately that I have been tuning into my deeply held beliefs, more so than I normally do: Compassion, Kindness and most importantly – Temperance or lack there of at times.
These thoughtful moments of self-reflection seem right to me, they seem to help with finding my center once again …
I would like to point something out though – Merely studying our virtues is not enough to become virtuous … We could apply this same thought process to many aspects of our lives, couldn’t we?!?!
However, our minds and our lives tend to take the shape of what we think about throughout the day. What society and social media deem acceptable, what we are force feed to believe. Which when I pause to think about this, its pretty sad.
Daily Meditation:
We live in a society where virtue, intention and other “not cool to talk about” topics deserve more attention in our everyday lives than we tend to give them. Anyways …
Long time readers may remember my dear friend Anne. Well, after a year’s worth of training with some dude in Nebraska (which is scary enough already) … Anne is back in Boston to finish what she started last year! If your guys wish to follow Anne this coming Patriots Day? Just follow the link below!
Anne’s Boston Marathon Bib #25231
Paper-White Narcissus
Posted: April 17, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Boston Marathon, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, Lisel Mueller, love, marathon, motivation, musings, Narcissus, natural, nature, Omaha, Paper-White Narcissus, passion, perspective, Poetry, Spring, writing, yoga, Zen Leave a comment…
Strange, how they got their name—
a boy, barely a man,
looked into sunlit water
and saw himself so beautiful
he spent his life pursuing
that treacherous reflection.
There is no greater loneliness.
Here they are, risen
from the darkness of the pebbled pool
we have made for them in a dish—
risen and broken through
the long, green capsules
to show us their faces:
they are so delicate they invite
protection or violation,
and they are blind.
The Way to … कुण्डलिनी
Posted: April 7, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: कुण्डलिनी, balance, Bikram, blogging, compassion, exercise, family, flow, free range, freshly pressed, health, hipster, hope, Karma yoga, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Vinyāsa, writing, yoga, Zen 2 CommentsThere are an infinite number of reasons to say no. Instead, try to focus on one good reason to say yes-
This weeks post will focus entirely on two harmless letters: N and O … And why it’s extremely difficult to put them forth in good faith, in a manner that honors and respects our true spirit. A little context is in order before we begin. This past Saturday my plans went sideways, really quick! My team fell apart at the last-minute for a gravel ride over in Iowa, which we had planned back in January over a few soul warming adult beverages. No biggie, such is the ebb and flow of life when you try to get five dudes together at once, add in work and kids?!? You know how it goes, anyways … A new yoga studio opened up not too long ago in West Omaha that I was curious about trying out. This is where I failed to say “no” for the first time on such a lovely Saturday morning. What do you think when you read “Hot Yoga?” For whatever reason, and maybe what my spirit needed at the time, was a hot vinyasa flow. I could rant about Bikram yoga, but I won’t – not here. I had hot yoga firmly planted in my stubborn mind, until class started that is.
…
Saying “no” to anyone, about anything, is easily the most challenging part of our lives. Do you like being told no? Do you take comfort in telling someone, maybe yourself, “no?”. We want to avoid the discomfort and the consequences that might come our way for being fully “exposed” in our unwillingness (my stubbornness). Many of us continually strive to be caring and available, and we often find it strenuous to face a situation in which, for whatever reason, we don’t find the willingness, the courage or ability to say “yes” to what is being asked of us.
If we are able to keep our attention focused on attending to what matters most, and keep coming back to that intention, this beautiful “thing” called life may surprise each and every one of us. We begin to hear the needs of our True Spirit more clearly.
Daily Meditation:
When saying no eludes me, however much I am committed to “whatever” … Rather than closing my heart in order to say “No,” which is what I often do, I consciously choose to open my heart wider, in order to actually feel the pain of saying “no” and bear witness to its effect – To honor my true self, to tell the full truth, and to remain present to hear it.
CultFit 