Parinama

  Renew (14 th century): replenish, replace with a fresh supply; restore (a living thing) to a vigorous or flourishing state,   The process of boundary maintenance is in fact quite complicated as evidenced by how frequently we come to realize that an influence we perceived at the time to be self-enhancing, and so allowed into ourselves, proved, to actually be self-destructive. And, inversely, influences perceived at the time to be threatening and kept at bay, proved to be a lost opportunity for self-enhancement.   Adding to the complexity is that our ongoing sense of self is also affected by how we maintain our boundaries with respect to all that comes from within-the feeling in the pit of the stomach, the intuitive hunch, the impelling concern that will neither go away nor come into clear view. James Finley, The Contemplative Heart   Spring is the natural time for renewal, renewal of the earth and renewal of the self.   Yogasana pr...

    Just as each inhalation is the body-grounded act of receiving, so too with each exhalation our body teaches us the way of letting go of all that hinders our transformation. James Finley, The Contemplative Heart   I have been experimenting with this during the day, opening myself up to experiencing life as a flow of receiving and giving rather than a pursuit of goals or the accumulation of things or experiences.   Instead of measuring the gains and losses in an exchange with another or in striving to the finish line, I instead open myself up to the possibility that in each experience I am given something and am giving. I help a colleague with a problem and I feel competent, a friend listens to my concerns and I am kind to a neighbor, I brace against a stiff strong wind and after dip into a hot bath.   Life follows the same rhythm of the breath with a flowing in followed by and preceded by a flowing out.     There is a wa...

  Wisdom isn’t knowing more.   It’s knowing with more of you. Cynthia Bourgeault   I recently heard an interview with the writer Michael Pollan where he talks about how we become more habitual as we age.   He described this with the image of tracks made by the steel blades of a sled running over a snowy hill.   Overtime, the sled will be pulled into these ruts, unable to make new ones unless a force pushes the blades in a different direction.   Pollan wrote about this in his book on psychedelics where they are likened to a fresh snow that fills-up all the ruts.   LSD, psilocybin, and other consciousness altering drugs, Pollan instructs, can help us see and do things in a fresh way, even as, especially as, we age.     I do find myself doing things more habitually as I age.   At least it feels that way.   But I can’t be sure if it is aging, life’s circumstances, or the pandemic which keeps me in the groove...