Parinama

  Atha Yoganushanam (Sutra 1.1: Now we begin the practice of yoga.)     The spiritual path never imposes itself upon us.   It is not urgent or even necessary for life.   It is always an invitation, a calling from a quiet place into the unknown.   Our hearts feel this urging, not our minds.   We must take the first step onto this path from our own free will.   As seekers on this path, we consent to learn something of life beyond our small self, to find the deeper meaning and purpose to our lives.   We enter this path also out of desperation, sorrow, longing for love, and belonging, for all that we face that we cannot understand or control.   We surrender something of our own understanding of things, on this path, open to what is beyond our comprehension, for the possibility of living with more ease, peace, and capacity for love.   But we need to begin, take that first step in letting go.   Our crea...

  When asked what the monks did at the monastery, St. Benedict said, “We fall down and get up, fall down and get up, fall down and get up.” Recounted in a talk by James Finley   We stumble through life setting goals thinking they will make us happy only to fail miserably or if we reach these goals feel elated for about five minutes before we need another success fix.   Avidya or ignorance in yoga philosophy or the false egoic self in the contemplative Christian philosophy drives our relentless pursuit of happiness through achievements, power, money, and the accumulation of things and relationships.   It can take many years of “failures” and “humiliations” to begin to see that something about this just doesn’t seem to work.     Spiritual and meditation practices provide steppingstones and insights towards the source of contentment that surpasses fluctuating circumstances. But it’s not a one-shot deal where we learn the lesson and ...

  My grandparents never had a planned retirement but worked until they couldn’t any longer in jobs that were demanding and did not pay very much.   I can’t say I know what their stresses were, but I never heard them complain about not having enough time the way so many of us do now. I wonder if they just didn’t expect to ever be done with work, didn’t see it so much as the measure of their value but the reality of life.   My grandmother Phillipa worked until she no longer could, when the pain of diabetes and the confusion of the dementia forced her off her feet.   I can still see her with the pink plastic bucket filled with warm water making her way up the back steps as she scrubbed each one by hand, anticipating the meal that needed to be made, the clothes that needed to be washed, the bills that needed to be paid.   She cared for her family, and she care for other families with her cooking and cleaning.   The holiness of her work do...

  We all need guidance, support, and mentorship to help us find our next step along journey.   These gifts of guidance often come unexpectedly and unbidden at just the right time when they are needed.   The short-time I spent among the amazon women stands out as one such moment in my young life, a gift from the universe to support me in my quest to be more myself.   The summer after my first year in college, I worked for the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School off the coast of Rockland, Maine where students of all ages came for 5, 10, 30-day courses in outdoor survival skills and seacraft.   I worked in “logistics” repairing the outdoor equipment, clothing, and boots that the students used in their courses.   It was there I met an amazing group of strong women who awed me with their skills, courage, and confidence. I had never met such strong women before, bodies made muscular through sailing, running, swimming, chopping wood. They ...