Through Children's Eyes

We just had the first snow in New York City last night 12/19/09. And before it came, all we heard from the weather people was about this big storm that is coming. A lot of stress is created as a result. I was in a store in the early afternoon and I heard an adult rushing a child to make up their mind on choosing a gift for someone because "it is starting to snow". As adults, the wonders of nature, or the elements apparently no longer hold that wonder. Today, Sunday 12/20/09, people are out digging out their cars, their sidewalks. The kids are just enjoying the snow. To them it is a wondrous event. They are delighted. They run and play in it. The slide in it and make snowmen. They enjoy the moment! If the adults can just take a moment and enjoy the silence and the beauty of it. It also helps us to see where we are physically as well a mentally.

The other day, I was spending time with my granddaughter. She wanted me to pick her up, holding on to her hands and swing her from side to side. It was just sheer fun and delight on her face. I was having a good time too swinging her. It made me happy to see that just this simple interaction is so enjoyable and in the present moment! Through children’s eyes it is really a gift and a wake up call to be free!

Eye Sight vs. Insight

It is noticed that when one gets older, one has to use eyeglasses to see more clearly to read, or even to see things in more perspective, like your skin, to put on eyeliner, to see the make-up, driving, etc. In other words, things looked at get a little blurry (from all the close-up narrow viewing one does).

When I had been taking the Bikram Yoga classes, where one is directed to look in the mirror at one’s body postures, I have noticed that the farther back I am, the less I see any “imperfections” my mind would pick up. I have realized that the blurry effect is really quite nice. It is aligned with nature in the fact that instead of focusing on the so called imperfection of the outer body, the focus is from within. Another realization that came to me is that the farther back one is (from the mirror), a bigger picture is seen and there is less tendency of getting stuck on the little stuff or only seeing one piece of the picture. It’s like as one lives more, the mundane things that seemed important, no longer are. What is important is to live fully in the moment and appreciate it fully.

Related post:

Thoughts As Eyeglasses - YS II - 33

More on Open To Receive

You know after I did the previous post on Open to Receive and listened to the video clip piece relating to Catherine Ponder on the subject, it triggered another realization upon awakening. That realization is that in order to stay open to receive, we need constant positive reinforcement on a daily basis. If not, it is so easy to slip back into the numb zone, or the closed zone, thus continuing the cycle of not changing and receiving our divine inheritance.

On that note, the following is a little more from Chapter One of Open Your Mind to Receive by Catherine Ponder OPEN YOUR MIND TO RECEIVE

Why should you deliberately open your mind to receive? Because most of us have endured a pinched, narrow existence for no good reason. We have blocked our good from getting through to us in the process. There's nothing divine about a pinched existence. There's nothing divine about a narrow, limited way of life. It proves nothing but the foolishness and ignorance of man who actually lives in a universe of lavish abundance. Anyone who leads a pinched, narrow existence is not expressing his true nature. He is only cheating himself.
If this has happened to you, there is something you can do about it!
The word "receive" means "to accept." Psychologists tell us that we can have anything we can mentally accept, but that we must mentally accept it first. A great part of the act of receiving is to accept the good you want mentally rather than fighting it mentally.

Giving is the first step in receiving.... When you want to receive, give!.....

See related post - Open To Receive

Open To Receive

I'm sure that some of us are wondering why we don't have more in our lives. It could be more money, more love, more people, more whatever. Could it be that we are not open to receive? Could it be that we are constantly scrutinizing situations, people, motives. Even more paranoid?

The other day I was sharing some thoughts with a family member about a person that showed up in my life as always giving "things" to me. I have accepted "things" from others occasionally. These things I speak of are tokens of gratitude and appreciation on their part for what they have "learned" from me in class or in friendship. I saw myself ask why is this person giving me all this stuff? What are their alternative motives? So as I shared my thoughts, my family member just listened. And then Ta Da! I had an epiphany or light bulb moment. I finally got it that if I cannot accept these small gifts of gratitude from one person, how will I be able to accept greater gifts from the universe? "I" then saw this as a test or a wake up call to be grateful in the moment. That really helped to set "me" free!

As I am writing this post, I am also realizing that that is how the entire universe works! The sun shines on everyone and everything. The grass doesn't say I'm not going to accept the sunlight. The water doesn't say it is not going to flow. The flowers, trees and animals don't say why is the sun shining on me and what is the motive? Nature is always open to receive and so should we be. It is in the receiving that we also give the giver a chance to receive on their end as well. When we block the giver we might offend them as well as stunt both our growth as well as theirs in sharing and giving.

Enjoy the short reading that relates to this post.

Cleaning Our Mirror

I was flossing my teeth this morning and some water spots got on the bathroom mirror. I proceeded to clean the mirror off and the thought about the importance of cleaning the mirror on a daily basis. It made me think of the fact that if one did not clean the mirror regularly, that pretty soon one could not see one's reflection in the mirror. It would get spotty, and not give a clear reflection. Just like our mind and body.

Meditating daily would be like cleaning the mind, which in itself is a mirror. Exercising and or doing hatha yoga postures daily would be like cleaning the body, which also reflects how we take care of it, or use it. If we did not do these practices our minds and bodies would get dull and clouded just like a mirror.

Daily Routine

We tend to get bored with doing the same thing every day. But if we just become open and let things flow, things change in the "routine". Even when the sun rises everyday we think it's "another day". But the day always unfolds differently if we are open.

For me, a way to illustrate this point is as follows:

"I" teach yoga classes. A couple of days ago, when I started the class, I inspired to ask the students what they wanted to do in the class for that day. A student wanted to do the headstand, also referred to as sirshasana. Mind you, most of the students there that day have never done one. I asked him could he do a headstand. He then attempted to do one, however, he tumbled safely out of it. A few other students did it successfully in various stages. So I proceeded to demonstrate the basic head stand and of course most people were thinking "I can't do that". The suggestion of the headstand reminded my how I started out this year 2009 with the desire for more students to learn this posture that reverses the circulation in the body and wakes one up.

I took the class through sun salutations, surya namaskar, and other postures to open up the body. And low and behold, near the ending of the class I came back to demonstrating and having the students learn basic initial set up for the headstand. I was amazed at how the "creative energy" led me back to where I began, or my intention to have the class practice the beginning of headstand (as I could sometimes be lead on a tangent to other postures).

After the class, the same student came back to say that maybe he should have suggested something that everyone could do. I told him that it was perfect the way it unfolded. That we all need to go beyond what everyone else could do to be stimulated to move on, instead of getting stuck in our practice. He agreed. I thanked him again because it also stimulated me to be open and a channel for the energy to flow to have a "different" class in the "daily routine" of classes.

It is in the practice, the daily routine, like the sun rising everyday, that we learn, become open and gain new insight. Hopefully we all get up after a tumble and continue to rise not taking our daily routine for granted.

See related posts:

• Practice as a Tool YS I - 1, YS I - 2
• Repetition vs. Repetition

http://www.bometernally.com/

Focus and the Mind

I'm sure you have heard about some references in regard to 'focus' and the 'mind'. To the majority of us this can appear most times impossible as one can be distracted by any and everything in society as we grow up, especially here in the west.

This made me think about how I used to be uncomfortable about showing my legs because of some stretch lines on the skin. I didn't want to show them, so I would wear clothing to cover them up. From the perspective of the ego mind I would then appear to be like everyone else, or without blemish.

You might know by now that I am avid yoga practitioner. I recently did a 30 day challenge at a Bikram Yoga Center. Since the class is done at 105 degree temperature for ninety minutes, one doesn't tend to wear so much clothing and one would wear attire like going to the beach. So I wore shorts, revealing my legs. As I continued to do these classes, which I love, it didn't matter anymore about revealing my legs. My focus was on executing the postures. In fact, I noticed that if I did not put my attention, my focus, on my legs, I forgot about it and felt normal. I forgot about the preconceived concept of mine (my mind) or the ego mind that I should hide my legs.

Another example of focus and the mind is have you discovered that as the body ages and you bend upside down or lean forward that the flesh does too? I remembered the first time I saw this "I" was horrified. Yet I could still do all the things that I normally can do. So now I don't freak out about it as much anymore. I accept it and with this acceptance comes freedom as well as a change of focus. I am still able to use my body which is my vehicle and that is what really counts. And if other people don't like it, it does not matter.

Yoga is great as it helps one to appreciate the present moment right now. Instead of me "worrying" (and who is worrying), I continue to use the gift of today. After all I am not my vehicle and I should just take care of it so it can serve me as long as I am in it.

These experiences are making me become FREE and more my Self! After all it is all in my mind and no one else is focused on it than ME!

These examples definitely fits with the saying you are what you think or what you focus on! What are you focusing on today?

See related posts -

Thoughts As Eyeglasses - YS II - 33

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 - The Yoga of Knowledge

Realizations Upon Awakening

You might wonder about this title. It was what came to me to use for this new blog site as I pondered the little realizations that reveal itself to me on a daily basis. It could be very small or minute thought or revelation. As an example, I always use a car or automobile as an allegory or in an analogy in comparison to our bodies. Our bodies I view as vehicles in which our consciousness navigates through the waters of life. Or to navigate on the road of life. It is amazing that people destroy the earth as well as human beings just because they don't like the "make" of a person's vehicle. I could give an example like if you were a Chrysler and the BMW or Mercedes did not like the Chrysler, the Chrysler would be destroyed. If one understands that is the same"universal consciousness" that exists inside that makes that car move.