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- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc)
Hope Is A Practice
Patanjali provides in the Yoga Sutras (2.32) that the second niyama, samtosha (contentment) is an ongoing practice. It is not something that we can expect to arise on its own and if not, lament its absence.
I feel hope, without which it would be hard to experience contentment, too, is something that requires steady practice.
My personal experience is that only thing that gives me hope when I am feeling despondent about the state of things is to do something, whether it is giving resources or time or connecting and expanding community.
What about you?
Being Present in the Present
Much is made by Westerners of the exhortation in Eastern practice to be in the present moment, but it often is used as justification for a feckless disregard for others, for our history, and for our own power to change and grow.
Being fully in the moment at all times (easier said than done) by virtue of the fullness of presence itself, leaves no room for belaboring the past or being anxious about what might not come to pass, which is wonderful indeed.
To be truly present, though, to live in the “now” is an artful dance. It requires being fully in the moment, while simultaneously honoring and learning from the past and taking responsibility for the future. It is thus that we live best–both recognizing ourselves as beings in the fabric of space and time, yet simultaneously experiencing the universal joy unbound by the limitations of space and time. This is, I think, the ultimate point of the practices.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
State of the Garden — Close Up (and Anticipation)
To deny or ignore the future is not the same as living in the present. To live perfectly in the present as a responsible and engaged part of the collective being, one must still plan for the future that will become a present. It is the perilous attachment to a particular outcome that can make bitter the present, not the engaged expectation of the future that is an inevitable part of living in the present.
As I worked in the garden this morning, I thought how much presence I find in the enjoyable anticipation of what will ripen in the future. And while anticipating cucumbers and tomatoes (and taking note of the damage caused by the birds), I set myself to enjoying fully the greens and herbs–the current abundance.
Blueberries, purple Cherokee tomato, grape tomato, echinacea, burpless cucumber, Italian eggplant, red Concord grapes, snow pea, green bean (Kentucky wonder)–June 10




