The Axis

   Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
  As if this activity is the axis
  On which the whole earth revolves.
 Live the moment.
 Only this actual moment is life.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Love Them Anyway

I Wonder

I wonder what would happen if
I treated everyone like I was in love
with them, whether I like them or not
and whether they respond or not and no matter
what they say or do to me and even if I see
things in them which are ugly twisted petty
cruel vain deceitful indifferent, just accept
all that and turn my attention to some small
weak tender hidden part and keep my eyes on
that until it shines like a beam of light
like a bonfire I can warm my hands by and trust
it to burn away all the waste which is not
and never was my business to meddle with.

- Derek Tasker

Unconditional love. What a concept. Because who are we to state the ideal conditions of love anyway? We have all been hurt, we have had our hearts broken, we have been lied to, deceived, overlooked, underappreciated. But we are still all cut from the same cloth, and are made of the same fabric.

Accept that people will hurt you. Love them anyway. See what happens.

The Pressing Moment

I believe that only one person in a thousand knows the trick to really living in the present. Most of us spend 59 minutes an hour living in the past, with regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done, or in the future, which we either long for or dread. Yet the past is gone beyond prayer, and every minute you spend in the vain effort to anticipate the future is a moment lost.

There is only one world, the world pressing against you at this minute. There is only one minute in which you are alive: this minute, here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle. Which is exactly what it is...a miracle, and unrepeatable.

-Storm Jameson

Strength is an elusive and mysterious thing - or is it? I think it's just misunderstood. I think that our strength is constant and powerful, but it is our failure to acknowledge this unfleeting inner strength that gives us the illusion of weakness or helplessness.

When we aren't present and we are instead anticipating or worrying about the future, it is extremely weakening. It takes our minds and our focus from the present moment, and forces us to instead invest our energy in the illusion of "what's to come."

Pause for a moment today and consider how much life energy you are using to think, plan, or anticipate the future. Consider how much energy you are using to regret or replay the past. Then consider what you could do with this very moment if you invested all of that energy in the now, in what is, instead. Whether it is really truly listening to someone when they're talking to you, or being completely engaged in a sport or yoga class, or hugging someone honestly. Acts done with true presence can change your day or someone else's.

It is this potential that makes every moment a miracle.

Imagine what you could do with an entire day full of miraculous moments. That is the truth of strength: It only exists right now. You are already stronger and more powerful than you could ever hope for. 

Happy Peace Day

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." - Mother Theresa

Today, in honor of International Peace Day, I hope that you are able to clear the clutter from a small corner of your mind, clear the hurt, anger, guilt, or sadness from a small corner of your heart, and have an itty bitty bit of peace.



Life Wants You to Wake Up

"The problematic situations in your life are not chance or haphazard.  They are specifically yours, designed specifically for you by a part of you that loves you more than anything else.  The part of you that loves you more than anything else has created roadblocks to lead you to yourself . . . it doesn't want you to lose the chance.  It will go to extreme measures to wake you up."

A.H. Almaas

You have the choice to look at every situation you come across today as a victim, as someone that the situation is "happening to," or you can look at everything as an opportunity.

Consider that life is trying to wake you up to a new possibility. It could be the love of your life, a career with purpose, a long lost dream. If we are able to think this way, with gratitute instead of disappointment and discontent, every moment becomes a gift.

Let Them Sleep

Those who don't feel this love
pulling them like a river,
those who don't drink dawn
like a cup of spring water
or take in sunset like supper,
those who don't want to change,
let them sleep.

This love is beyond the study of theology,
that old trickery and hypocrisy.
If you want to improve your mind that way,
sleep on.

I've given up on my brain.
I've torn the cloth to shreds
and thrown it away.
If you're not completely naked,
wrap your beautiful robe of words
around you,
and sleep.

- Rumi

The Sound of Silence

"When you inhale, you are taking the strength and wisdom from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world." - B.K.S. Iyengar

Sit still and be quiet. It seems like the easiest thing in the world to do. Thanks to our parents, we've been practicing it since we were restless children, antsy and anxious to get away from the dinner table. You might even still think you're practicing it - when was the last time you excused yourself, saying that you just need a minute to "clear your head," only to go off on your own and dive even deeper into an avalanche of thoughts? Too often we trick ourselves into believing that being alone is being peaceful, and that quiet is the same as tranquility.

Sakyong Mipham, current leader of the Shambhala lineage of Buddhism, states that the mind is joyful by nature. Any negativity, darkness or depression that passes over our minds is nothing more than a gray cloud that is temporarily concealing our true joyful nature. Through meditation, we are gently and purposefully brushing away these clouds.

Meditation is not necessarily just the absence of thought. It is the practice of being completely present, of being entirely aware of what is happening in that moment. This is why so many find it helpful to focus on the breath during meditation. By mindfully controlling our breathing, we are anchoring ourselves in the present moment. The breath serves as a natural bridge between the mind and the physical world. By reigning in each in-breath and each out-breath, we are refusing to allow our attention to wander elsewhere: our anxieties, our plans, even our emotions. We are simply breathing.

So what is the real benefit of meditation? Why should I waste my valuable time in which I could be planning and scheming, to instead sit and do nothing? How is this productive?

For the quantitative readers out there, scientific studies have proven that meditation increases gray matter in the brain. The process of sitting in silence and focusing the attention on the present moment has been shown to literally increase brain mass. (You can read more on one such study here.) But that's not all.

When was the last time you got in your car after work and ended up in your driveway, not really remembering how you got there? How often do you find your brow furrowed or your face twisted as you mull over some situation or conversation in your head, not realizing that you were frowning so fiercely?  Our minds have amazing power over our physical selves. Thinking negative thoughts produces stress, illness, and other unhealthy results in the body. Thinking positive thoughts has been shown to produce spectacular healing results. And clearing the mind, if only for a few minutes, produces a peace and tranquility that can sometimes provide just enough space for an amazing mental transformation.

It's been said that prayer is when we are talking to God, and meditation is when we are listening. Regardless of what you consider "God" to be, perhaps it's worth considering the value of simply stopping and listening once in awhile. You never know what messages your body, or your universe, might be trying to send you.

Someone who continues to inspire me daily says that "meditation is like water," and I think he's right. If we can take just a few moments to calm our minds, to gently refuse to entertain any thoughts that aren't centered on the "now," we begin to move past labels. If we begin to collect the pieces of ourselves that are living in the future (our worries, our plans, our hopes), and the pieces of ourselves that are living in the past (our depression, our regret, our memories), we can slowly become whole in the present. Like water, when we meditate we become formless, shapeless, and perfectly sustained. Our true self is a state as natural as water, if only we care to access it.

Give it All Away

"A hundred times a day I remind myself that my life depends on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give back in the measure as I have received, and am still receiving." - Albert Einstein

You wake up in the morning. You study the reflection in the bathroom mirror, noting the new rogue gray hairs or maybe feeling silently pleased with your new trimmer waistline, the result of a new diet. You thumb through your closet, wondering what to wear. You check your stocks in the morning paper. You stop for a coffee on your way to work. You do your job diligently (or maybe not so much), and you head home at the end of the day. What's for dinner? What's on TV? Your stomach hurts. You call your girlfriend. You iron your clothes for tomorrow. You fall asleep.

You fall asleep, without having truly given of yourself once that day. You existed an entire twenty four hours without ever acknowledging the people living in this world with you. There is nothing wrong with this way of life. And yes, your work at the office may have made the world a better place overall. But just how many opportunities to give did you let pass you by?

Think about it... everything you have received in your life has been a gift of some sort, an act of creation by someone you know or don't know. Do you live your daily life in gratitude of all that you've received, or do you often find yourself focusing on ways to increase your own wealth and contentment? How often do you repay the favor?

Consider why doing good deeds simply feels good. Giving of ourselves is a meditative act. When we give, we are truly and fully present. We are living outside of ourselves, even if only for a few fleeting moments. But those moments are enough to bring a clarity and a glimpse of peace that is only accessible when we are in touch with our true nature, our essence. It's the connection with this true nature that feels "good."

The exchange of energy that flows through our world is undeniable. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore it is only through giving that we give to ourselves. Each time we give our time, our love, our kindness, or just a listening ear to someone that needs it, we are manifesting the cycle of abundance in our lives. If you emit a positive, selfless vibration into the universe, the universe will echo this message back to you.

Test the theory. Take the next 24 hours, and give as selflessly and as often as you can. Start small if you want: Smile at a stranger. Compliment the barista. Look closely for any opportunities to put someone else's happiness before your own. Watch as your own worries, troubles, and anxieties vanish. Notice the ways that you could change someone else's life for the better, and watch as your own life expands in ways you never imagined. As you learn to forget yourself, you are taking a step toward integration with the rest of the human race. We are all made up of the same matter; the same energy pulses through all of us. We all share the same oxygen. How often do you acknowledge our unity?

We have the power to literally create miracles. My promise to you is that am going to test the theory for the next 24 hours. What are you going to do today?

The Ocean and the Waves

"Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave until it gets to shore." - Rumi

My recent relocation to San Diego has brought about a lot of change in myself and my life. And while the mental, professional, spiritual, and relationship changes have by far been the most drastic, the geographical change shouldn't be overlooked. After all, I am 3,000 miles away from "home."

Fact: I live at the ocean now. I've never lived this close to the water. And San Diego isn't just near the ocean... it's consumed by ocean. Beach towns line the coast from Mexico to North County. The surf-life creeps up the sand and into the streets in the form of sunbleached surfers and salty beach bars. Even downtown San Diego cuddles up against the harbor like a needy girlfriend. Ocean is everywhere.

So maybe this is where my recent fascination with ocean grows from. Ocean visuals pool in my meditations, "ocean breath" (yogis, I know you feel me here) is infused into my yoga practice, and ocean metaphors form in my mind constantly while I read and write.

The fascination is this: Something greater than us exists. No matter how in control we think we are, there is something larger leading us. This isn't meant to be taken in a strictly spiritual context, either. Consider: You are greater than your thoughts. You can control what thoughts you choose to entertain. You are greater than your environment. You can control the affect that people have on you. You can absorb their doubt and their negativity with little more than a ripple in your surface, like a pebble into the ocean. This is the essence of ocean in you. You are powerful, inpenetrable, and flow from an unobstructable source. And yet, this source is even greater still.

When we are able to look outside ourselves, we can see that we are part of a larger, much more powerful picture. When we are able to look outside of ourselves and our plans and our worries, we can see that the ocean takes care of each wave until it reaches the shore. If we pause, let go, and allow the ocean to carry us, we might even learn to enjoy the ride.