Never give up

This......is Pumpkin.

He is the most determined, clever, ingenious dog I have ever met.  You see, Pumpkin is bad.  Just down right bad.  That's why he's not allowed in the living room when no one is home.  To keep him out of the living room we block off the room with a huge piece of plywood.   That seemed to work.  Little did we know that all the while he had been formulating a plan.  Here's the plan (as we see it anyway...) He carefully pushes the dining room chair out from under the table.  Then he carefully jumps on the chair, making it easier to jump onto the dining room table.  Then he figures he has a better chance of jumping over the plywood.  So far, he hasn't figured out that part.  Knowing Pumpkin.....it won't be long before you figures it out.  NOTHING CAN STOP A BEAGLE FROM GETTING WHAT HE WANTS..... NOTHING.... Not even an iron dog crate. 

This...... is Ganesha

Ganesha's story goes something like this....He was chosen to be the scribe of the ancient yoga knowledge. The deal was that he was to write down the knowledge without stopping.  If he stopped for any reason the connection to the Divine wisdom would be broken and the information would be lost forever.  (No pressure, right?).  Somewhere along the way his pen broke so he broke off one of his tusks and used it as the pen. When the ink dried up he used his own blood as the ink..... How's that for perseverance and determination????

Then there's me..... I really did think of myself as being determined and I certainly felt like perseverance was one of my attributes.  Until today that is.  Today I realized that when I make the decision that I can't do something, for whatever reason, I simply shut down.  I close the door and move on.  Pumpkin notices he can't enter the room one way so he figures out another way.  Ganesha can't finish writing with the broken pen so he thinks of another way.  Me, I can't do it so I give up.  Fascinating!!   Finally the light bulb came on today.  Just because I can't do something one way doesn't mean I can't figure out another way to do it that I am more comfortable with.   There must be 100 ways for Pumpkin to make his way into the living room.  He's going to try all 100 until he finds the one the works best for him.  Why the hell do I stop after one try??

With examples of fierce determination like Pumpkin and Ganesha....We can longer say we can't do this or that.  We must try to find the way that works best for us and not quit until we have  exhausted every possibility first.   These traits of determination and perseverance can be strengthened with practice.  Like the muscles in our bodies, the more we use them, the stronger they become.  The stronger they become, the easier it becomes to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks.

Jai Ganesha!  Jai Pumpkin!

Role call.....

Ever try to close a container that you've overfilled with stuff?  Clearly you have too much stuff in there for it to close properly but you still try.  You push down one end and the other end pops open.  You re-arrange the stuff to try to get it to fit better.  You struggle and struggle to squeeze everything in and tightly close the container.  Sometimes you have to resort to tying or taping the container so that it stays shut with all your stuff inside. 

When we continue to play a role that we have clearly outgrown it's as pointless as trying to fit 100 lbs of stuff in a 5lb container.   At some point we need to recognize that it's no longer working and we need a different container.  

I have been know to throw away stuff because I like the container better than the stuff.  Sometimes we get attached to our container... aka:  the roles we play.   We identify more with the role than the person playing the role.  

I heard a speaker recently who described it as a seat assignment.  He said that right now the seat assignment the Universe gave him was the assignment to travel around sharing his story with others but that maybe tomorrow the assignment would change and he'd be painting houses.   

One day our seat assignment is the teacher, the next it's the student.  The roles are not fixed.  Like everything else in the Universe the roles we play are fluid and ever changing.  We must be willing to flow with Grace or be dragged.   We must be willing to evole or become extinct. 

When the role/container that we have neatly stuffed our true Self into becomes too small to contain it we must let go of the role and take on the next one.  Acceptance means being willing to change your seat assignment when the Universe is showing you that it's time. 

I can assure you that there will be people who will challenge you.  People get attached to the roles that we play, especially when we're really good at them.  They see you only as the role.  I can attest to this first hand.  I was so completely attached to the role my teacher was playing.   There was a period of time when I was so completely attached that I almost felt like his sole purpose was to support me on my jouney. 

I'm grateful that the Divine opened my eyes so that I could see that even the teacher is on his/her own jouney and also needs support.  It is sometimes difficult for us to accept when other people let go of the roles and accept a different seat assignment but it's necessary.   As we accept the changing roles of the people in our lives we can more easily accept the changes in our own roles.

Fluidity is the key. We must recogize that unless there is fluidity there will be stagnation.  We evlove or become extinct. 

What is love?

The question of the day.......What is Love?.....

I posted this question on my facebook page and it seems the question has ruffled a few feathers.  The reaction I've gotten to the question has been very interesting.   My favorite reaction is "What kind of question is that?!"  It was just a question.   I'm curious.  Curious about what people are thinking.

My pal, Jon, reminds me often that not everyone things like I do. (  Although I can't imagine why not)   I know what love means to me and I wanted to know what it means to other people.  In yoga-land they're always talk about love.  No matter what the question, no matter what the situation, no matter the problem the answer given is always LOVE.  BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???

Those of you who know me personally know that I'm not the mushy type.  Does that mean I'm not loving?  Those of you who know me personally know that I would move mountains for you. That's what love is.  Doing whatever is needed to care for those I love,  even when I want to smack them.

I have found that the word "love" is too limiting.  There should be way more ways to describe love. For instance.... I love cupcakes and cosmopolitans and I love my children do not adequately describe my feelings.   Can you even describe feelings? 

I'm rarely at a lose for words but there aren't words powerful enough to adequately describe what love is. 

Some of my facebook friends shared their thoughts:

*  "Love is the willingness to recognize that which is real" ~ Erich Schiffman

*  It is now.

*  Open armed surrender to the process

*  "love is EVERYTHING"

*  unconditional selflessness.

*  Divinity devouring/nourishing/sacrificing itself for and in and by itself...
*  Love can not be emphatically defined. It changes its shape all of the time. Once it is labeled it diminishes its existence. Love is the unique perception of an individual that regards an experience as being wonderful beyond words.
*   Love is caring for someone with all your heart in good and bad

All wonderful comments but I must agree with this one:  "Love can not be emphatically defined. It changes its shape all of the time. Once it is labeled it diminishes its existence."

I can tell you that when I love.... I love with all my heart.... I love you means I would die for you.   Love means that I will go to hell and back to take care of you.  Love means that I accept you for you, the good, the bad, and ugly.  But that also means that I love you enough to call you out when you are not living up to your own Divinity...... 

Love is helping others find their way back to God.  Even if that means they don't like us much in the process.... 

The paper mache heart

The story goes something like this......


There once was a girl who thought her heart was made of paper mache. She thought this because she could feel in her heart even the slightest shift in energy. Her heart was constantly being tossed around, torn and tattered. She did her best to protect it from the storms but her efforts only lead to the paper mache being damage from her own tears.

One day, she was sitting on the porch listening to the giggles of the children playing. The good thing about having a paper mache heart is that it's also effected by the slightest bit joy, like the sweet giggles of little ones at play. That's when she noticed the gentle breeze making beautiful music as it blew through the wind chimes.

The girl then decided that maybe it would be better to think of her heart as a wind chime instead of paper mache. Like a paper mache heart, the nature of the wind chime is to be effected by even the slighted movement. Only that the wind chime uses the shifts to create music where the paper mache is torn apart by the shifts.

"Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree, Intimates friends, the ego and the Self dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life while the latter looks on in detachment." ~ Mundaka Upanishad



What's on your mind today?

Once again I must ask the question....."Why does anyone watch reality TV when there is so much entertainment going on right here in our own minds?"  I've been watching my mind running at a 100mph.
Watching it take little bits and pieces of things other people have said and weave it into a total soap opera.
My friend, Jon says he loves his mind because it's so entertaining.  I say my mind tortures me. 

As I've been watching all the random thoughts bouncing around in my mind I'm trying to find a common theme.  The one theme I discovered is that 99% of what I think it honestly, and truly NON-SENSE!
My mind is tossing around yesterday's conversation and wondering why I didn't say this or that or why I didn't ask the question when I had the chance.  When I'm not listening to the mental recording of yesterday's conversations I'm fantasizing about tomorrow's conversations.  Have you ever tried to imagine how tomorrow's conversation is going to go?  Has it ever happened the way you imagined it?  No one ever follows the script we write for them in our heads do they?

99% of the time I am simply wasting energy creating stories in my head.   No wonder I'm so damn tired all the time.  The incessant chatter is really exhausting.  We can no better predict the future than we can change the past.  So why do we spend so much time trying?

As for the other 1% of random thoughts I did find one, maybe two, that were gentle reminders from the Divine.  I probably would have recognized the reminders a lot sooner had I not had 99 other thoughts getting in the way. 

Reminders



* We are not our emotions so don't get attached

*Life is too short to waste so take chances

*There's no guarantee of tomorrow so speak what's in your heart

* Patience and contentment should be cultivated

*Self confidence isn't the same as egotism

*When we hold back from sharing our talents we are doing a disservice

*Meditation is the off switch for the mind

Oh......I just thought of one more thing I want to say...... Recognize that your past experiences are coloring your perceptions of the present.  Keep that in mind when you have such strong opinions about things.  Your perception may be a little off.  It's best to approach each situation with a clear mind, free from preconcieved notions.  With a clear, open mind we can receive the experience we are meant to receive without the past getting in the way.