PEACE BE UPON YOU

Ugh!  Conflict, controversy, name-calling, denigrating, fighting, killing, spying, mistrust, distrust, dis-ease, manipulation, misinformation, greed....It gets overwhelming and demoralizing to pick up a newspaper, flip on the Nightly News, scroll through the internet newsfeeds.

Every so often I call a moratorium on "news".  I find I am less afraid, less stressed, less worried about the state of our world and the future of our planet when not constantly bombarded by strife.  I find when I focus on my own little life, the people in it, the things that are of immediate importance to me I find more peace.  Then the guilt sets in and the realization that I'm not just an island unto myself.  I am part of the greater whole with an obligation to learn, grow, model, and practice finding a path out of the darkness that so often envelopes human nature.

It is a delicate balance to be a part of, and a part from, this world.  I need inspiration.

In class this past week, Karen ended, as we always do, with bowing to each other in Namaste.  This time she included my very favorite Namaste mantra:

Bringing hands to our head at the Third Eye:  "May there be peace in our thoughts."

Bringing hands to our lips:  "May there be peace in our words."

Bringing hands to our hearts:  "May there be peace in our hearts."

In the religion of Islam, Muslims practice salat -- ritual prayer -- pausing five times each day to kneel on a prayer mat and praise God.  The salat ends with, "Peace Be Upon You".

I've decided to take up this practice -- upon awakening, mid-day, late afternoon, evening, before bed -- repeating the following slightly altered Namaste -- taking personal ownership of the sentiment by using the word "my", with the added salat close:

May there be peace in my thoughts.
May there be peace in my words.
May there be peace in my heart.
May Peace Be Upon Us All.

I wonder how our behaviors might be different, our ability to find solutions enhanced, if we could live those words as a promise to ourselves and each other.  I'm gonna give it a try. ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

BEING WITH WHAT IS

8.10.15    I'm sitting at our campsite at Colonial Creek Campground.  J. has left on a several mile hike.  I am alone here by choice.  I did a 4-mile hike yesterday and hated it, even though I’ve done it before and recalled it being easy. Well, it is a relatively easy hike, but I was tired, hot, dehydrated and mostly it had that familiar feeling I get when hiking…of a death march.  

I’m unsure why I came on this trip.  While at home, I recalled that last time we were here I enjoyed it  But then I got here and remembered that we stayed three nights, which I recall thinking at the time was one night too many, so I guess I didn’t love it so much after all.  This time we are here for only two, thankfully.  

I think I came because it is pretty here. The weather is perfect.  And I wanted to share this with J. He loves camping and hiking.  But as he points out, my “sharing” also includes periods of complaint, sarcasm, and moroseness.  He likely prefers to be alone.  I can’t blame him.  I don’t do this with enthusiasm.  

I am rarely bored.  I hate the word and feel those who rely on it are just not interesting/interested or creative enough to use their time in a way that is fulfilling.  But I have to admit….here, with nowhere to go, no internet, no contact with my friends and family.  Hmm….I will be challenged to find something that holds my attention as this long day unfolds.

I have my novel (loving the Outlander series!), but I’ve been reading almost non-stop since finally giving up trying to sleep at 6:00 a.m. after fitful awakenings all night long.  It's 11:00 now and my vision is blurry.  I have to rest my eyes, so maybe a walk to the lake or around the campground loop is in order.  The sun is peeking through.  Yoga on the tent pad is an option, as is a perch by the stream and a time of meditation.  Breathe.

And there you have a glimpse into a Journal entry I wrote last Monday.  Whine, whine, whine.  Nope, I'm not a fan of camping even though we have a very modern, warm, cozy truck camper (stove! microwave! refrigerator! Queen bed!)  My sweet husband has tried his darnedest to make me comfortable enough to want to go camping with him, but mostly I don't see the point.  We have taken road trips in the camper and I like that.  I feel like a turtle with my "home" on my back.  But to drive a few hours to sit in woods?  Not so much.  I find it to be more convenient, quiet, private, and as beautiful at home.  (I'm grateful for the view and a wooded ravine on our property that I get to enjoy every day.)

So, when we returned and I gratefully came into Yoga Circle on Thursday, getting a big sympathetic hug from Karen, I was happy.  Then she read a selection from Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" and it was perfect.  He talks about transforming suffering into peace:

"Your first chance is to surrender each moment to the reality of that moment.  Knowing that what is cannot be undone -- because it already is -- you say yes to what is, or accept what isn't.  The you do what you have to do, whatever the situation requires.  If you abide in this state of acceptance you create no more negativity, no more suffering, no more unhappiness.  You live then in a state of nonresistance, a state of grace and lightness, free of struggle."

Re-reading the Journal entry above, I see how I was lost in "suffering", trying to change the circumstances by dwelling on how much I didn't want to be doing what I was doing -- camping and hiking; didn't want to be where I was -- outside cell range and far too far away from Starbucks; didn't even want to be who I was -- a complaining ungrateful partner.

Then, slowly, I started to move into a place of acceptance.  I looked at a beautiful day stretching before me; a day of solitude and spaciousness.  I did take that walk around the campground loop which was quiet (not so very many campers on a Monday) and smelled of the forest.  I sat by the rushing stream, my back against the strong trunk of a cedar tree, closed my eyes and meditated for a good long while.  I walked down the short path to the edge of Diablo Lake, emerald green and shimmering in the afternoon sun.  I rolled out my Yoga travel mat on the vacant gravel tent pad and did a short standing asana practice.  Then I returned to my book, snacking on peanuts that drew the attention of two little chipmunks hoping for a handout.  Before I knew it, my husband was back and we had a lovely evening, chatting 'round the fit pit together.  I had given up suffering and accepted the "is" of the moment.

If I could do that more often, I'd be a happier woman.  The Power of Now, indeed.  ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

GURU PURNIMA....A DAY OF RECOGNITION FOR OUR TEACHERS

Today is Guru Purnima -- a day to give thanks to our teachers (gurus).  Many of my Hindu- and Buddhist-leaning friends used the occasion to post thanks on Facebook to those who have been instrumental in their ongoing explorations of life and practice.  What a lovely tradition!

I thought of my own life and of those who have been instrumental in setting me on my path:

My strong and courageous supervisor, Julie, in Chicago who introduced me to feminism 42 years ago and encouraged me to move beyond what I ever thought possible in my life, sharing her experiences and providing me with a role model for education, activism, and perseverance.

The founders of two personal growth groups for women, Char of "Woman Within" and ALisa, Jude, and Sarah of "Women in Power" who supported me, and scores of others, in delving into the wounded places in our souls and finding healing, grace, and power to move through the hurt to a place of strength and intention -- with a toolbox full of practical modalities for ongoing self-awareness and growth.

Two journalists/teachers, Mary Ann and Fred, in classes at the UW Non-Fiction Writers Program who told me I could write and encouraged me to keep at it.

Poet, Jack, who said everyone has a story to tell in the form of a 3-minute poetry performance and led me to my first Open Mic.

My meditation teacher, Bruce, who taught me mantra meditation and that the present moment is infinite.

Bhakti teachers Jai and Gina who inspired me on the path of devotional chant and whose wisdom, humor, compassion, and humility are ever an example for how to be in the world.

Karen, my Yoga guru and role model for joyful and abundant living at every age.

My women friends who show me every day the healing balm that comes with deep sharing, mutual support, and uproarious laughter.

Also....my husband and sons,  daughter-in-law, and grandchildren for teaching me the depth of my capacity for love, patience, and forgiveness.

I am blessed with so many gurus, so many who have in the past, and continue in the present, to challenge and support me to lean into greater physical and emotional health and wisdom.

Who are your gurus?  Now would be a good time to reflect and say... ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo Credit: <a href="https://clipartfest.com/">clipartfest.com</a>

YOGA IS FOR KIDS

I went to a Yoga class Sunday afternoon with dogs, bunnies, lions, giraffes, elephants, cats, cows, butterflies, snakes....

Nope.  Not at the zoo.  It was right in the familiar confines of Yoga Circle Studio.  Meg led a fun and silly and altogether wonderful class for children and their adult companions.  I took my nearly six-year-old granddaughter.  There was a mom there with her four-year-old daughter too.  Yep.  Just the four of us.  I think class attendance suffered from "sunny skies syndrome".  Hopefully others will flock to the next one, on August 9th, because it was really special and fun!

I had tried once before to take my little Yoga Buddy to a yoga class, the Mothers Day when I got my whole family to go with me to a special "Family Yoga" workshop.  My granddaughter was only 2-1/2 then and spent most of the time removing the bolsters from the shelves and building forts.

This time she was more familiar with yoga and Meg used the perfect imagery to engage the young girls -- all those animal poses with funny noises and asking us to imagine ourselves as each creature.  We had a snack break half-way through class (there was much discernment over which of the dried fruits in the bowl of trail mix were favorites) and another break to "get the wiggles out" that was meant to be a dance with a "freeze in your favorite yoga pose" moment when the music suddenly was turned off (a la musical chairs), but which ended up being permission for the girls to run a race from one end of the studio to the other, back and forth, several times -- no dancing, just running, but with the "freeze" pose tagged onto the race, thankfully!

I had to remind my companion a few times to "listen to the teacher"; "watch your teacher".  She wasn't distracted so much as just wanting to do things her way.  I guess she was merely "modifying" her poses, but with each one she seemed compelled to hold her pretty pink block (whether needed or not) and create her own version of the pose.  I smiled, but was a bit irritated at her independence in this regard.  I also felt her alignment could have been better; these poses are done a certain way for maximum benefit, after all!

Lest you think me a drill-sergeant grandma, I'm not!  I recognized my own rigidity and self-judgment immediately.  I recognized how I strive so hard to follow the example of my teachers at all times and not deviate much; to "get it right"; to concentrate on proper alignment.   I laughed at myself and made a conscious decision that unless my companion was being disruptive and inappropriate in her behavior, I would just let her be.  Let her have fun.  I would smile encouragingly and not scowl with disapproval.   Of course!

Which is good advice for myself as well.  I am rarely disruptive and inappropriate, but I am often obsessed with "getting it right" in Yoga and in Life.  I could take a lesson from my granddaughter:
Run with abandon. Ask questions when I'm unsure.  Watch, listen, learn -- then be creative.  Laugh a lot.  Share my snacks (savoring the dried pineapple chunks!)  And no scowling!

We ended the class with a legs up the wall savasana, where we were admonished to remain very still, as if Queen Elsa had walked into the room and we had all became frozen.  (Those little girls immediately stilled and remained so, being well-familiar with the story!)   My companion said that was her favorite part.

We took pictures after class.   My Yoga Buddy posed up on the raised teacher platform in a modified eagle pose and also doing side-stretches with Meg.  She asks to see them every time we have been together since.  She was proud of knowing the closing Sanskrit song: lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA3ZZOvd7yo having learned it in preschool, where a classmate's mom comes to teach yoga to the kids on occasion.

It feels sweet for this grandma to share my passion for yoga with my granddaughter.  It was also sweet to share a post-class Lemon Bar at the Snohomish 1st & Union Bakery.  We both seem to have a love of "special treats", as well as yoga.  Can't wait to do it all again soon....and for years to come. ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo Credit:  monicaroa©123RF