More Truth

I'm still contemplating the ramifications of truthfulness as I was discussing in the last post. What if we don't like what we see when we look inside ourselves? Or what if we are so scared to admit that we have value that we cannot look inside ourselves? What do we do then? Well, we keep trying. We use the Yamas & Niyamas to guide us and we practice non-harming (to self and others) and tapas (staying in the heat of the fire, i.e. staying with the discomfort and examining it). And we practice surrender - we go with life instead of fighting all the time.

Here's a little exercise. Ask yourself these questions:

1. What am I most afraid of?

2. If I could do anything at all, no restraints on time and money, what would it be?

3. What do I love most about myself?

Usually the 1st one is pretty hard to answer because most of us have to admit a fault here like, "I'm afraid everyone will see that I am a fraud. I don't really know what I am doing." The 2nd one can get pretty wild, "I'd travel the world, I'd quit my job, I'd learn another language," etc. Now the 3rd one, that's a doozy. How many of us can admit that we like anything about ourselves at all? Much less that we love something about ourselves.

Go ahead, jump in the fire and admit to yourself how many things about yourself are great. I'll start you off, "I love that I laugh a lot, I love that I'm learning to really see myself, I love that I am creative." Go on, keep on making your list.

ps - Here's an article from Yoga Journal to help you along a bit: Polishing the Mirror - the Practice of Self-Reflection.

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day and it's raining and gray. I am in the middle of a two week break from teaching. Of course, being on vacation from work means house projects! Dave and I are fixing up our entry way hall/stairs. Everything needs to be redone. Stripping, re-staining, varnish, plaster repair, cleaning, priming, painting, sand the floor, refinish the floor. Ugh!

Well, there is no work to be done today. The rain and damp have invaded the house, creating a non-drying effect on the Polyurethane. We have one more coat to go on the woodwork but are in forced relaxation today instead. It is just as well. It is a national holiday after all. So here I am, thinking and remembering.

Over the winter, Dave methodically stripped all the layers and layers of paint and varnish off of the woodwork. Our house is over 100 years old so there is plenty of build up. I'm thinking that we (people) are just like our house, layering on shells, building a thicker and thicker armor over time, obscuring our true beauty underneath.

Yoga is the antidote. Yoga helps us remove this deadening coating. With our breath and our awareness, we delve deep into our thoughts, our habits, our patterns and we see them for what they are: constructs of the mind and the ego. With mindfulness and loving kindness we remember who we are, we accept what we see, we forgive ourselves, we move on.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti. Peace.

Yamas and Niyamas: Ishvara Pranidhana

Here is my teacher, Deborah Adele, talking about the 5th Niyama, Ishvara Pranidhana or Surrender. For more information visit www.theYamasandNiyamas.com.