Day 346 Intention ~ Let Love Rule

Day 346 Intention ~ Let Love Rule

 

 

This week I have been working on the anahata chakra, a.k.a. the heart chakra in my classes. This can involve backbending and chest opening that can make people feel vulnerable. Some of us guard our hearts so intently that once we try to open that area, it is a challenge.

 

Usually when this class is going on, people have such contorted faces and make noises to assure me of their discontent in attempting these positions. After a little while, as they start to warm up and even start to open up, things tend to settle down. People tend to quiet except for their breath. When the class is over, there is a new vibrant energy about the room and even many smiles.

 

 

When we can get the chest opening and that heart area opening, balancing the heart chakra, we start to find some space...for love. Not just self-love, but a love for others. A sense of community starts to form. We can start to see ourselves in each others hearts and vice-versa.

 

 

So ham, I am that. I am that I am.

 

Namaste, the divine in me sees and honors the divine in you.

 

Let love rule.

 

 

Til tomorrow...

 

Shanti,

 

Marcia

 

 



The Journey

Life is a journey, time passing by us woven into the bridges that connect one portion of our life to the next. Sometimes we look moments we loved so dearly and lift them up so high we create a fear of letting go, convincing ourselves if we do, all the joy and love in our lives will slip away or bad moments are destined to repeat themselves.

These fears can cripple us, stopping us from moving forward, discovering the people we are destined to be.

When we hold onto those moments, a wall is created, separating us from the rest of the life we were intended to have. An island is formed and we sit in that memory as if it were the present while the rest of the world spills forward onto the next destinations. We can no longer search for anything, because to hold something new, we must let go of the old, making room in our heart and soul for change.

We must evolve into the next version of ourselves, one that is stronger and more diverse than the last.

Appreciating an idea, or a moment, adds layers to our lives, guiding us forward along the path of our life. Each step brings us into the present allowing us to be the person we were born to be. A person that loves themselves and others, regardless. A person that can see beyond the boundaries of their limitations. Someone that knows what the answer to “are we there yet” really is.

Are we there yet? It is true, the journey is more important than the destination. Just as it is important to be moving on that path and not trapped in an opinion, memory or fear that moving forward will bring sorrow and death, because the answer is no. If you’re reading this, then no, you are not there yet and that means you still have time.

Let go of the things that are holding you back: the past, resentment, anger, fear. Look at them from a different angle to get perspective, accept the situation for what it was and keep moving. Life will take you to the end regardless of what you did or didn’t do on your journey, you may as well enjoy yourself along the way.

The moment you finally let go, is the moment you are truly free.

The Paradox that is Life

Actions are always more complex and nuanced than they seem. We have to be willing to wrestle with paradox in pursuing understanding.

 - Harold Evans

Sometimes living a paradoxical life is what we all do best. Saying one thing and doing another will always be one of the trials of our lives, because more times than not we believe both ideas to be truth and this can lead us to confusion.

We we choose to follow our own heart, rather than sleep walking through our lives - dancing to the beat of another man's drum - we have to accept the fact it will be paradoxical.

This is not an excuse to live in contradiction.

It is a simple fact that human nature is much more complex than we allow ourselves to believe. By taking notice and accepting the paradoxes we find in life, we can begin to walk a life filled with less confusion.

The Acceptance Mudra

The index finger is folded into the space between thumb and this finger, so that the nail touches the fold. The outer lower corner of the thumb's nail touches the inner lower corner of the pinky finger's nail.

This mudra is used to over come the unnecessary resistances in our lives, helping us find acceptance of ourselves.

Mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum

A mantra used by Tibetan Buddhists closest to the Dali Lama. Many stories are told of this mantra and how a disciple had been chanting it wrong only to show that it's the intent of the mantra and not the actual words.

The simplest translation is "Jewel of the Lotus" (Manipadme in Sanskrit). In a more deep translation it states that each part of the mantra will help you identify with yourself and then break down the walls of your life. Helping you achieve purity and wisdom, leading you to the path that is your truth.

Rabbit Pose

Rabbit Pose stretches out your back, neck and arms. It helps maintain a healthy balance of hormones, relieve insomnia and depression. As we curl into ourselves we release the tensions of our day in our back allowing us to see past the many nuances of our days and our lives.

May your week be filled with blessings and I hope to one day see you on the mat.

~Namaste

Bhumisparsha Mudra & Letting Go

Normally, we limit the meaning of perceptions. Food reminds us of eating; dirt reminds us to clean the house; snow reminds us that we have to clean off the car to get to work; a face remind us of our love or fortable or familiar scheme. We shut any vastness or possibilities of deeper perception out of our hearts by fixating on our own interpretation of phenomena. But it is possible to go beyond personal interpretation, to let vastness into our hearts through the medium of perception. We always have a choice, we can limit our perception so that we close off vastness, or we can allow vastness to touch us.
~Chogyam Trungpa

Chogyam Trungpa speaks of how to find magic, and in doing so he shows us how we limit the magic around us through perception. We wake up every day ready to walk our own path but are quickly discouraged by our own perception of what life is or what life should be.

Life shouldn't be anything - it just is.

He continues to explain that when we learn to see all sides of the situation, the reality of this world, we can then just be. We are no longer fighting the world we have arrived.

Bhumisparsha Mudra

"touching the Earth"

More commonly known as the Earth Witness Mudra you come to sit with your legs folded, straight spine, placing your left hand on your left knee, fingers pointed towards the ground (or touching as shown in the above [inverted] image), palm inward towards your body. Your right hand is placed on your right knee with the palm facing up and open like a bowl or a cup.

It is said that the Buddha held his hands like this to summoned the Earth as a witness to his transformation from Siddhartha to becoming the Buddha.

A grounding mudra, one hand connect to the Earth, which is connected to everything and the other begging to the world. Showing the world that it is easier to give and to receive when you're hand is open and willing to help and be helped.

When we become grounded and connected with the Earth and the world we can begin to see other perceptions of situations we may normally only have one idea about - like love.

With red colored hearts and babies dressed with bows and arrows, falling in love is an adventure in itself, but quickly we come to learn what love really is. So many say they love "unconditionally" but then follow-up the statement with comments that place conditions on that love.

'If my grades are better my parents will love me more.'

'If I dress a certain way, my boy/girlfriend will love me more.'

'If  make more money...'

Our perception of what love should be opposed to what love is can be a hard pill to swallow. Understanding to love someone or something may mean loving things that are difficult and trying. By grounding ourselves we learn to head toward enlightenment, to see past our preconceived notions and our limited perception, connecting with the earth to extend out past the small real we preside in.

Take ten minutes to find a quiet corner coming to sit in meditation in the Bhumisparsha Mudra. Once you have found a comfortable position, soften your eyes and your belly, breathing in the world around you, and exhaling your doubts and fears. Using a simple mantra of "Let go":

On your inhalation "Let"

On your exhalation "Go"

By learning to let go, to be grounded, to be connected and willing to give and receive the things you need in life you will alter your perception bringing you closer to finding you and unconditionally loving you.

Your pose of the week: Child's Pose

Placing your arms extended on the mat out in front of you, with your forehead touching your mat, child's pose is a welcome pose in any practice. It's merely one breath away waiting for you to find your breath, help ground you and most of all help you to let go.

Allow yourself to be the person you are inside and not a perception of something less than that.  Honor yourself. Love yourself.

I can't wait to see you on the mat.

~Namaste