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Spirituality

Bearing Good Fruit

Jivani Lisa

There are religious fundamentalists and ultra-conservatives in every religion. They are quite convinced they’re the only ones who are “saved” while everyone else is an outcast and doomed. Most religious believers (in every religion) are NOT like this. On the contrary, they are filled – or aiming to be filled – with love and compassion and wish to share this love with others. God (or whatever you wish to call It) is Love. Therefore, a person who does not exist as a loving presence in the world has not truly experienced God (or whatever you call It).

Jesus, the Christ, put it like this: “By their fruits you will know them.” (See Matthew 7:15-20.) Trust your gut, your heart. If you feel judged rather than loved and welcomed, look elsewhere. Mostly, look within your own heart – where Love, Light, and Peace always exist somewhere deep inside. You can learn to contact and trust this place deep within you. All the practices of Yoga are meant to help us find and live our lives from this place. And from this place, we can become the bearers of good fruit.

Peace to all! OM… OM… OM…

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Spirituality, Yoga

Keeping Spiritual Vows

Jivani Lisa

“When you make a vow or a decision, don’t expect it to go smoothly. If everything goes smoothly, where is the test to prove that you will stick to that vow? You should even be concerned if no tests come. If you vow not to eat sweets, soon someone will offer you the most tempting treat. If you vow to wake up every morning at 4:30 for meditation, suddenly you’ll feel so tired. If you vow to treat your spouse as divine, probably at first he or she will look and act like a god. Then all of a sudden, that same god will turn into something terrible! Don’t waver in your vow, continue to think of him or her as divine. If you pass the test, the situation has become a great instrument for your spiritual growth.”

~Sri Swami Satchidananda

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Spirituality, Yoga

Spiritual Yoga

Jivani Lisa

Resharing this 2011 post from my blog, Soaring with God:

Yoga class is a spiritual (even religious) experience for me, even when I’m working as the teacher.  I take it seriously and put my entire heart and soul into it.

For me, the class begins 15-30 minutes before the actual start time – when I enter the room and prepare it for class.  I like the room to be a certain way:  Everything neat and clean; mats and props stored in their proper places; lights on a dim setting; calming music playing in the background.  Creating this kind of “yoga atmosphere” provides a pleasant space for my students to enter and prepare themselves for class.

The door to the room is kept open until the class begins.  For me, the act of closing the door is a spiritual experience.  It symbolizes the creation of a sacred space where people feel held, accepted, loved – where the heart, mind and soul can expand without interference.

I choose music to inspire without distracting the mind.  I use a short meditation (usually a quote from a spiritual master) which is read to the class at the beginning and again in the middle of class.  These are intended to help students connect with themselves (and others) on all levels – including the mental and spiritual realms.

As I teach, I have a sense that I’m accessing a universal creativity that comes from God.  It’s delicate, subtle and precious.  I am filled with awe.

I connect to the peace, love and joy of God and then try to share that with my students.  It’s much more than a physical workout.  In fact, for me, the physical part is secondary to everything else that’s going on in the class – within myself and within my students.

Toward the end of class, as students are lying in final relaxation, I often find myself spontaneously moved into prayer for them as individual souls.  Within my heart, I pray for them and for the world.

We conclude class with a sense of wholeness (I even venture to call it holiness) – and a spoken prayer that as we go out into the rest of our daily lives, we may live our lives from our peaceful, loving, joyful center.  For me, that center is God, always with us.

Photo by Becky Stephens, Onelife Fitness, Norfolk
Spirituality

The Power of Meditation

Jivani Lisa

From Buddhist teacher angel Kyodo williams:

We can see the thoughts that come up in our minds the same way a mirror “sees” things. A mirror just notices. It registers whatever passes in front of it without holding on to it in any way. It just lets go. It doesn’t think about it or have a long conversation about it. Since the mirror doesn’t cling to the object that it is reflecting, when the object goes, so does the reflection. It’s the same way with your mind. We don’t hold on to the random thoughts that arise over and over again in our minds and that can take us away from the full experience of now. We want to be aware only of our breath and nothing else. The moment that we become aware that a thought has taken form, we just relax and allow it to pass. We just notice the thoughts and we return to our breath. If nothing grabs onto the thoughts as they arise, they will keep on moving on, leaving no trace that they were ever there. Let your mind be like the mirror. Clear mirror, clear mind.

(in “Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace”)

Photo by Jovis Aloor on Unsplash

Vibrant Health

Happiness is Within

Jivani Lisa

Well, sometimes we do need to change the outer circumstances – for example, if we’re in an abusive relationship or community, we need to summon the courage (and probably ask for help) to get out, to move on… But, overall – YES! Happiness and joy are within us! No external places, possessions, or people can give it to us. We find it deep within. I had a hard time believing this when I suffered from severe depression, but now that I’m on the other side, I can see and experience Truth. Peace to all!