Our Journey Through Health and Knowledge
enhancing, exploring and expanding our health and lifestyle togetherNew challenge, new life
If anyone has talked to me at all since December, you know that I have returned to the yoga studio. Typically, I’ve mentioned the excitement of the return, or the aches and pains that quickly followed. It has been 8 years since I was in a steady practice, and much has changed since then… you know–stamina, energy, age. Imagine my surprise when I found these same sentiments echoed in an article in O Magazine this month! It was like reading flipping through the pages of my journal.
I know that I’m not Oprah, therefore an endorsement from me isn’t necessarily going to send you running out to buy a book, go to Monaco, or email Bob Greene. I am, however, honest and happy, so I think that counts for something. Let me tell you–O Magazine (Oprah’s rag) is the BEST magazine EVER! While, yes, there are magazine-y things that annoy me, the insights on all aspects of life–mental, spiritual, emotional, physical, and financial–are all encompassed in there. Each month, I have an “aha!” moment that I must share. Well, this month, it came in the form of Paige Williams’ journey to her best self. Part II was featured, so I immediately put it down to go back to January’s feature of Part I.
I was plugged in from the first moments of her story when I saw the teaser:
She’s 80 pounds overweight, divorced, out of work, and deeply in debt. She needs a physical and spiritual overhaul. Can 60 days in a Bikram hot-yoga studio really undo years of damage?”
HOLY CRAP! I thought. I just started my own 60 Day Challenge! Lemme see what this woman’s talking about. Now, I’m not unhappy, depressed, unfulfilled, nor lacking intimacy, but let me tell you–that’s where our differences ended. Everything else about her story–her history, thoughts in class, self-doubt, frustration–all of it I have experienced.
My flabby abdomen won’t let my forehead anywhere near my knees, and my legs tremble as I try contorting myself into a position my body neither recognizes nor endorses. The goal is to concentrate on stretching and breathing, but I’m fixating on my unpedicured toenails. And the neon paleness of my legs. And the fact that I probably should have shaved.”
I laughed my way through the story as I remembered my own issues on Day 1 and 2 and 3 and… Having gone through the first period of flux that accompany most new journeys, I’ve found a new mindset emerging. It’s not about: Ugh–my arms are flabby and I have the heaviest thighs in the room. It’s about: Yes! I maintained my balance today! Yay! I’m not crying through Tibetan leg lifts any more! Wow–I’m so close to doing standing bow I can taste it!!! I love that woman in the mirror–she’s awesome! (okay, so that part wasn’t new)
“Your mind is supposed to be your best friend, but it’s the number one enemy. Mind can make you Hitler or Mother Teresa.” Bikram Choudhury
Today on Day 6 of my 60 Day Challenge, after class number 20 of my new practice, my mind is saying the following:
- I have set my intent: consistency.
- I am committed, I am powerful, I am unrelenting.
- I will go beyond my expectations, while releasing outcome.
This is not an ad for Bikram Yoga–in fact, I practice at Sunstone Yoga, which isn’t affiliated with the Bikram School. This is a telling of my story, which might resonate with your story, which might give you the encouragement that you need to do something for yourself today. My new life is about being committed to something I enjoy that is good for my body; being accessible to those who love me; being responsible; being my best self; and living my best life–excuses are not welcome here.
“The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” Thomas Merton
Advent Conspiracy
isnt it funny how negative things grab our attention? we see an accident on the highway and rubberneck our way into causing another accident. we are enthralled with the latest murder story on the news, the latest child abduction and what happened to the serial killer from the 1970’s. shows on television soar to the top of the chain that glorify the science behind crime investigation, the psychology behind the madness (i admit i am guilty of this) and books that offer glimpses into perversions are topping the best seller list (and yes i am guilty of this too).
this is one conspiracy that is not negative, even though the word has come to mean a hidden, a ulterior motive, reason, etc. this is a conspiracy of sorts because it asks you to do things selflessly; to think of others needs; it asks you to find the real reason for the season. i really almost abhor that phrase now. it is so overused by zealous ‘christians’ who are ultimately so judgemental and condescending because some dont believe as they do, celebrate as they do, think as they do. but there is truth in the phrase that is beautiful and unavoidably wonderful. this season, a day that has no historical significance to the real birth of jesus; this beginning of the christian year; this time of renewal and celebration has nothing to do with the hustle and bustle, the amount of money spent, the grandness of gifts. this is the time of year to rejoice, to relish and to re-live in the wonder, the glory and the love of all. the person you adore more than anyone else, the family member who just doesnt get you, the person you fought with during the last staff meeting, the stranger on the street. this is the time to smile lovingly and with gods love at the person who not only cuts you off in traffic, but also throws an inappropriate sign at you. this is the time to wish a good day, happy holidays, merry christmas, happy hanukkah to the store clerk who just cannot smile and refuses to help you with whatever you need. a time to accept something foreign to your current understanding of life and love. god, yehweh, buddha, the sun, whomever you see as worthy of praise in this season loves you unconditionally and with a love that transcends and transforms and is beyond any understanding we will ever have as humans. let this love fill your heart and your soul and let it radiate out of you throughout this season… and if you are very brave and bold, continue it all year long.
adventconspiracy.org is a site that offers different ways of approaching this often over-materialistic season. there are ways to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all. see beyond the symbols, the materials, the things; and into the hearts and the souls of your loved ones and the world. it is not about the money, nor the gifts, nor the amount, nor is it about you… it is about faith. it is about hope. it is about peace. and above all it is about love.
and i love you all. unconditionally. without borders. without constraints.
i love you all ways. always.
Daily Meditation: Pleading mouths, questioning hearts
One of the comments that I hear all the time with people who do not celebrate the same faith as I is “Do you really believe that there is some guy in the sky who really cares about each insignificant person in this world?” Well, no. 1.) I don’t see God as “some guy.” God cannot be quantified in that way. God is the great I Am. God is Truth. God is Love. Therefore, 2.) In just looking at the very small, yet significant definition of God to which I cling–God is Love–I can very easily accept the immense complexity and profundity of Love, which can account for and validate the people, and subsequently, the petitions of every single human being. As a trinitarian influencing my reason, it is very easy for me to understand and accept Jesus as the great reconciler and savior, as God made flesh, and the Holy Spirit as the Divine who dwells within us. How can we say Namaste, and deny the presence of the Holy Spirit? Isn’t she the light that we recognize in each other?
Even those friends of mine who would never worship God in even the privacy of their homes call upon that name in times of great stress and need. We look to God in our darkest hours and times of trial. I petition the presence of the Holy Spirit when I remember that I cannot do it alone, or when my unruly nature preceeds my patience. In those moments when we send those petitions and prayers, each of us has felt at least once that they have gone unanswered. My question is, do the petitions from the mouth match the desire of the heart? Is there something greater going on that will manifest itself later as an answer to that prayer? Perhaps, in letting the heart speak, stripped of ego and the walls that can entomb it, we will be open to receive the desires thereof.
Mark 2:1-12. Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?
A paralytic has his sins forgiven. Jesus sees into the hearts of the scribes who are critical of his forgiving the sins of a paralytic. Then the paralytic receives the gift of being able to walk.
One might assume that the paralytic’s friends brought him to Jesus to have his legs healed. But I think that just as he did with the scribes, Jesus saw into the heart of the man and knew it was forgiveness he sought, not walking. The miracle of walking was a bonus gift.
I can compile a list of the things I want God to do for me, my family, and my friends. He hears my petitions throughout each day. I imagine he has my prayers and supplications memorized.
He also peers into my heart to thoughts and feelings I may not acknowledge. It occurs to me that my family and friends have long held me up and carried me spiritually, often with diligence and creativity, toward our Lord when I could not do so alone.
I must examine my heart to find what God already knows. Asking forgiveness will be my first request. Then I will be more capable of carrying others to him.
I thank You for listening to the petitions of my heart even when I haven’t the words to speak them, nor ears to listen.
Daily Meditation: A discipline in response to desire
A part of being involved in any commissioned ministry typically involves the adoption of a Rule of Life. An effort to do as our early monastic and desert fathers and mothers did, a Rule of Life was described by one author as ” simply a structure in which spiritual formation is facilitated.” He continues, “The point of a Rule of Life, for communities or individuals, is that life should be lived in balance, with God as the focal point. A Rule of Life can provide us with the information and guidelines we need to get on the path of intentional practice of our Faith, and the loving accountability we need to keep us there.” For me, a Rule of Life is very simply planned time to spend in communication with God, the source, Love.
Just as children and job stress and ’stuff’ can get in the way of our interpersonal relationships, they, too, get in the way of our spiritual development. When one realizes that communing (or lack thereof) with the Divine is what informs the other relationships in one’s life, one yearns for the discipline to plug into that source of Love. I have that desire.
I’ve mentioned before that oftentimes there is a distance between wanting and doing. There are so many examples of this in my life, it’s almost funny. And yet, I still yearn.
My Rule of Life has been to meditate for any amount of time in the morning; it is to say the prayers that will follow today’s excerpt; it is to sit with my Spiritual Director regularly to help me live those prayers . Sometimes this rule is fulfilled in bed or in the car, on the phone, or in a waiting room. I invite you to offer what your Rule of Life has been, whether it’s been in the path of spiritual development, or rather in an attempt to just keep up with life.
Psalm 119:145-176. Early in the morning I cry out to you.On the first day of the week I had set aside to begin writing these meditations, I was up at 5:30 a.m. My plan was to do chores, get cleaned up, attend Morning Prayer at my church in town, then return to the country for a full day of silent meditation and inspired writing.But about fifteen minutes short of town, I had to stop on a dark, two-lane country road after a tire blew. Help came in the form of my husband, and another thirty minutes had me on the road–not to Morning Prayer but to the tire store.As I meandered the winding road toward town, I pondered how the morning schedule had similarly turned, first this way then that. One unfamiliar with our country road might anxiously anticipate what unknown events and places lie ahead. But today’s psalm also reassures, “You, O Lord, are near at hand.”The nearness of the Lord for me today would be the waiting room at the tire shop where I could read the scriptures away from distractions at home and meditate on what words would follow this month. “Great is your compassion, O Lord.” (forward movement)
