“Because the one I love lives inside of you, I lean as close to you as I can…” Shantala (aka Heather and Benjy Wertheimer who bring joy, beauty, and wisdom wherever they go).
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
What a brightly beautiful day. I persevere in letting go of the qualifier if only it were warmer.
“You like looking at clouds, don’t you?” asked one friend, as we took a walk along the shore after the workshop on Lakshmi this weekend. Another added, “did you always see so many heart-shaped clouds?”
“Yes,” I answered the first. “I always have.” To the second, I note that although I did not pick them out so frequently before, they are often there to be seen for those who are paying sweet attention.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
It has been a special day. I met a skink when we were weeding at the Youth Garden. First time I have encountered one.
I am grateful for a life that is healthy and safe enough for such things. Wishing health and safety for all and giving of time and energy (though I am sure it ought to be more) beyond the prayers to help it manifest.
One of the most profound and essential teachings of the great yogis is to “watch the gap.” We are given the practice of watching the gap, the space, the pause, the turning point between the in breath and the out breath, the out breath and the in breath. In the gap, we are able to witness perfect fullness (purna) and perfect emptiness (sunyata). In minding the gap, we can experience perfect stillness and serenity. It is an extraordinary practice in its simplicity and in its gift of peace and repose.
Whether you have never heard of this practice, learned it at some point but have mostly forgotten about it, or just did it with your own practice, I invite you to take a few minutes on reading this: make your seat steady and as comfortable as possible, close your eyes, invite an intention of finding a still spaciousness in your heart. Draw your attention to the breath and start to notice the space (maybe almost instantaneous and unobservable, maybe a real pause) between the in and out breaths.
If you are moved, comment on your experience to share with each other. There is no one right reaction nor a wrong one. If it was challenging to sit still and focus, just be gentle and soften to how enjoyable it can be to do nothing other than watch the breath, like the sweet and easy restfulness of watching the movement of waves at the beach.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.