Seeing The Bigger Picture!

Just like using a camera and distance the lens from our object to be photographed, in the same way by pulling back in our minds on the thoughts we have we can actually see the bigger picture!

I was recently looking at a DVD entitled BARAKA - A World Beyond Words - photographed in 70MM in 24 Countries. The first sentence on the back of the DVD cover states - BARAKA, an ancient Sufi word with forms in many languages, translates as a blessing, or as the breath or essence of life form which the evolutionary process unfolds.

Another part of the description on the back of the DVD cover stated the following : “Baraka captures not only the harmony, but also the calamity that humans and nature have visited upon the earth. It made me realize and reminded me of the glimpses I’have been getting not to get caught up in all the little things, of disagreements that people get into. That this too, this life will pass. We are only living in these temporary vessels of bodies. It is evident every day . We see the most recent news of what has happened in Haiti’s earthquake of 2010 . A few years ago it was the Tsunami in Indonesia, on the other side of the world. We all have to merge back into the Absolute, to mass consciousness from whence we came. I am also reminded of the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Oddly enough, I am not devastated like other people are about Haiti. Now don't get me wrong about not being compassionate. It just makes me contemplate more the nature of life here on earth. Death is the exit on the human body plane - of course there is no death anyway - just transitioning as one door closes and another one opens. All of these events are for us 'living' human beings to learn from, deal with, become compassionate, etc. I was looking at the Baraka DVD and found it fascinating and thought provoking. There is no narration in the film, just viewing great scenery and events of life around the world. It makes one really think of life and death and the rhythm of the Divine Creator.

Check out a short video clip from Baraka -

In regard to the process of life and death, a friend of mine mentioned two songs by former Beatles' George Harrison in which I found the following links for the songs:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31nvQDSzxrU - for Living in the Material World
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_N3bjqlr4 - For All Things Must Pass.
  　
  So remember to live now in the present as fully as you can! You never know when you will leave this body and merge back or go to the other side! Life is truly a gift so take a deep breath, step back and see the bigger picture!
  

See related post - Abhinivesa - Fear of Death YS II- 9

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/