Golden lotus with the white dot
and the red dot awaits
the adoration of all creation.
Blue and green earth, heavy
with moisture, give birth
always. Eternal now. In life
is possible liberation. Spirit
says freedom is right there
in matter. Look closer. See
path unfolding because
the way of exiting is first
the journey of entering in.
Go down. Spring high. Golden
wheel is Beloved and beloved.
“A little baby tries to walk: As one watches him falling down continually, it seems incredible that he will ever succeed. But he picks himself up again and again because the urge within him is so strong; and in the end he can walk upright without faltering. Similarly, there is no failure in the spiritual life, as long as we do not give up the struggle. And we shall never give it up once we have become firmly convinced in heart and mind that God is our only treasure.”
— Swami Prabhavananda in The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta (1963)
The moment you sense your heart contracting in fear/hatred, immediately return to your own proven practices for connecting to God/Love. Such practices might be prayer, deep breathing, repetition of a mantra, a walk in nature. Each of us is unique, so we each find what works for us.
May we connect with Love and embody Love.
Peace to all!
This is Yoga! From Chaplain Charles Lattimore Howard:
Being still has been a necessary part of my walk. Stillness, I should add, is not for me the same as emptiness. While the waters of the pond might be still on the surface, there is much life moving within. Life is within. Love is within!
When I am still I do not empty myself. I would rather be filled with love than have nothing within. And being still allows for this to happen, or rather being still allows for you and I to notice that this has happened already. The love is there within us, even now. Yet sometimes the waves of life rage so incessantly that it is difficult to see or feel that love.
Pausing and being still enough to notice love within and around is a deeply powerful and countercultural act…. In the case of most of contemporary society, stillness is a prophetic act, defying that which demands that we move quickly and move upward. It challenges the notion that it is better to be busy and occupied. It refuses the call to be constantly distracted and perpetually plugged in.
“Will you engage this moment with kindness or with cruelty, with love or with fear; with generosity or scarcity, with a joyous heart or an embittered one? This is your choice and no one can make it for you. If you choose kindness, love, generosity, and joy, then you will discover in that choice the Kingdom of God, heaven, nirvana, this worldly salvation. If you choose cruelty, fear, scarcity, and bitterness, then you will discover in that choice the hellish states of which so many religions speak. These are not ontological realities tucked away somewhere in space – these are existential realities playing out in your own mind. Heaven and hell are both inside you. It is your choice that determines where you will reside.”
– Rabbi Rami Shapiro
Holistic Yoga & Spiritual Guidance 