Why I Love Walking (and What I Miss When I Don’t)
So many of us drive, even for short distances. Is it a way of avoiding the world? What are the gifts of walking? Here is my short reverie on a walk across town.
My chiropractor’s office is a very short drive from my home – about 3-5 minutes or so. Since I wouldn’t have time for my usual routine of weights and yoga (or a morning hike), I decide, what the heck – why don’t I walk there?
Styana (Dullness) – the Second Obstacle to Spiritual Practice
This post is the second of a 9-part series on the obstacles to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras:
vyādhistyānasanśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣēpāstē̕ntarāyāḥ |
Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, worldliness, delusion, non-achievement of a yogic state, and instability are the distractions of the mind, and they are obstacles [in yoga].
We’ve all encountered obstacles in the path of spiritual growth – the sage Patanjali names 9 of them in the Yoga Sutras. Styana is the second, and this one may be the biggest challenge during our time in history.
The Invisible Threads of Life
It’s my morning ritual to sit in the front yard and take in whatever nature has to offer me. I receive messages from Spirit in profound ways from simple things. Simple things like thin, invisible threads.
The other day, something in the air caught my eye. It hovered between the tall pine in the very front of the garden and my neighbor’s apple tree over the fence to the right. I walked over to take a look, and there in the air were a small handful of what looked like dead grass cuttings. Of course – they were caught in a spider’s web!
But how in the world did the spider do this? It stretched about 9 feet between the two trees. And still, those blades of grass were suspended by a few delicate strands. Invisible threads, yet so strong and supportive.
This spider’s web reminded me that we are all held and surrounded by invisible threads. There are three kinds of these imperceptible supports in our life.
Seeing Kindness, Being Kindness
/uploads/2018/12/caring-children-kindness-awakeningself-spirituality-300×200.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”200″ />It’s the holiday season once again (feels like I just packed up last year’s Christmas tree, and now we are getting the ornaments out again!). While the season calls for celebration, merriment, and goodwill towards all, we’ve been seeing a lot of suffering and conflict in our world.
We might easily feel less than optimistic about the nation and our relations with others, whether other countries or those we pass on the street. But I have been seeing beautiful reflections of kindness and love all around me, and find that the willingness and ability to see human benevolence bolsters not only my world view, but my perception of myself.
Your Destiny
Whoa – with a title like “Your Destiny”, we’re all bound to give pause. We’ve probably all thought about our destiny at a few points in our lives. Is destiny pre-determined? Is it a well-defined path that we just plod along? Or do we have something to do with the unfolding of events in our lives?
Destiny is, in my opinion, a misunderstood word. We often associate it with the definition of “a pre-determined course of events.” Sometimes, destiny feels like that, as if things had to turn out a certain way, and there was nothing we could do about it.
But destiny is far more than just a fixed roller-coaster ride that you’re committed to and at the whim of as soon as you buckle up. No, destiny is a co-creation that has everything to do with your choices and your attention.
Beacon of Light
The cycle of the seasons here in the northern hemisphere is winding down to the longest night of the year – the winter Solstice. We enter the time of increased darkness and decreased temperatures.
Yet, it is in the dark that the light shines most brightly; a candle during the daytime is hardly noticeable, but at night it is a beacon of light.
There are times when our lives seem overcome with more darkness than light. Yet these times can be powerful and transformative. Often, the darker moments are the ones that call forth our greatest gifts and the most inspiration and support from the Divine.
