The sun is always shining somewhere. Most importantly, it’s shining within us, always.
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Tag: InsideOut
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Stranger in a Strange Land
I once read that in Japanese, all the words for ‘thank you’ translate more literally as ‘resentment’. This appealed to my cynical, 20-year-old self–it’s a way to acknowledge a debt we didn’t ask for, like someone holding the door for us.
More powerful is to recognize that our gratitude is the payment, whether for someone holding the door for us, or each sunrise we get to see, for each moment we get to spend with our loved ones.
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Brighten Black Friday
It’s funny, though perhaps appropriate, that this day—a day so focussed on commerce—is juxtaposed with Thanksgiving, a day focussed on gratitude.
Gratitude is the payment we give for those things that can’t be purchased with money; the things we didn’t ask for and can never repay. Those things that are intangible and yet so important.
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What is bliss?
Ignorance or marriage, apparently. If we eliminate ignorance, as being incompatible with sat and chit, that leaves marriage.
Marriage isn’t about always being chipper and happy. Marriage is about being in a relationship that is so strong it allows you to see yourself reflected in it, clearly.
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I Won’t Hold You Back
More than anything else, our ideas are our limitations. If you never try something, you can never do it. Let your time on the yoga mat encourage you to try something.
Back in the day, Public Enemy released an album, It Takes A Nation of Millions to Told Us Back.
For most of us, all it takes is ourselves.
Let go of the ways that you are holding yourself down.
The things that hold us back are the parts of us that are not conscious. To bring consciousness to them is not a battle to be fought, a war to be won. To bring consciousness to them is a gift we can give ourselves, to let go of those things we no longer need.
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The power to choose
Most of us feel better, calmer, happier after we get off the yoga mat. The traditional explanation is that the body has gotten a workout and the mind has gotten quieter, etc.
I think there’s also a lot of power in the recognition that we chose to do something that feels good. To recognize that we can make that choice in one circumstance reminds us that we can make it in others as well.
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Letting go of the voice over
In the last 10 days, I’ve had three Certified teachers show up to my classes–only one of whom was expected. Each time I’ve had an immediate moment of tension and dismay, wondering if I’m going to be able to teach “well enough”. And yet everything has turned out fine.
Recognizing the narrative that arises as nothing more than narrative is essential to moving beyond it. Instead, we need to focus on what is.
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Starting the journey
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” — Lao-Tze
“Watch that first step, it’s a lulu!” — Bugs Bunny
The place where they meet is where we need abhaya–fearlesness. The willingness to take that first step, even though we know the implications are going to be huge.