"Here within the heart, the Self shines in its captivating splendor like a noonday sun."

~St. Teresa of Avila



More and more I find that it doesn't matter where I am per-say that fills me...but, what fills me up are those moments where I feel present with everything and everyone around me. For me, that is what bliss is...the feeling of that connection. When I feel like these moments are few and far between its a sign that something is pulling me out of alignment with who I am. Its this constant learning and discovery process...starting with simple awareness...

As of late since making it back from Mexico I've had strong moments of being pulled out of that alignment. Thankfully, I have my daily practice and visit to the mat to bring me back. For some reason when on the mat the flow seems to take over seamlessly. However, my challenge has been taking that Presence off the mat, and into life as much as possible. Even through the evolution of my asana practice, as poses become increasingly more difficult...or challenging...the completion of these postures isn't really where the richness of the practice lies...even though it is fun learning something new. Its my mind...training the mind that becomes the exciting part...quieting the party that goes on in the head as I begin to feel more of the realness of who I am...how easy it is to get carried away by an array of thoughts and worries. Ahhh...so much worry...I guess that is where trust comes in...a trust in the process...an unfolding if you will. It can be a challenge to sit back and see the beauty in it...even though all I want to do is run from it...

I remember sitting atop one of the pyramids on Monte Alban in Oaxaca, MX...and everything was so still. On the horizon were mountains en-circling the plateau...and in that stillness I felt as if I could disappear...as if I was connecting to something bigger...and it felt soooo good. The me, the my...didn't seem so important. What I wanted or hoped to achieve was all lost...and all there was, was that moment...and there was no other place I wanted to be but there feeling the feeling of complete stillness and connection...

What a dance...to be so caught up in it...and then for it to be lost again...but there is no need to seek for it, because its always here...we just forget, and its time to remember again...

Puebla, MX

"(The) inner universe is much greater than the outer universe; it is so vast that the entire outer cosmos can be kept in just one corner of it."

~Swami Muktananda

"The sense of separate existence is a reflexion in a separate body of the one Reality. In this reflection, the unlimited and the limited are confused and taken to be the same. To undo this confusion is the purpose of yoga.

~Nisargadatta Maharaj

God Never Dies

"The heart is the hub of all sacred places. Go there and roam." ~Bhagawan Nityananda


One of the fondest memories of my trip to Mexico was when my bf and I would go to his sister's home to practice yoga...and his nephew would be beyond excited. Already, at a young age... mystified by the practice...there was a connection. This cute, beautiful, little thing would plop down between me and Ricardo and try his best to follow along with what we were doing. Let me just say he became my teacher instead of the other way around. What a wonderful site to see, someone embrace yoga with nothing but an innocence that was so pure. It reminded me of what its all about. Just connecting to the moment. Laughing when I fall or flub up...and moving on with a fresh mind...an airy lightness...having fun with it all. This little guy loved every moment of what he was doing with no expectations or goals...only living in the moment of discovery and excitement...how refreshing...something to take to heart, and bring to my mat...as well as into life...

A Ray of Light

We do not meditate only to relax a little and experience some peace. We meditate to unfold our inner being.

~Swami Muktananda

Love this picture...

Cathedral Santa Domingo

The mind that always thinks of a woman
takes on a woman's form.
The mind that is always angry
burns in the fire of anger.
The mind that contemplates illusion
falls into the well of illusion.
The mind that continually takes refuge in the Supreme
eventually becomes That.

~Sundardas

Stillness

"We are taught how to move and behave in the external world, but we are never taught how to be still and examine what is within ourselves. At the same time, learning to be still and calm should not be made a ceremony or a part of any religion; it is a universal requirement of the human body. When one learns to sit still, he or she attains a kind of joy that is inexplicable. The highest of all joys that can ever be attained or experienced by a human being can be attained through meditation. All the other joys in the world are transient and momentary, but the joy of meditation is immense and everlasting."

~Swami Rama, in 'Meditation and Its Practice'

Monte Alban

"No longer conscious of my movement, I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamed existed."

~Roger Bannister, on breaking the 4-minute mile



Soon...I'll be writing again. I've been going through a contraction period...ugh! frightening...but, I feel an expansion coming on...its just a feeling...

What a view

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

~Picasso

Mitla

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities."

~Jean Houston

Tule

"The secret of the receptive must be sought in stillness;
With in silence there remains the potential for action."

~Zhou Xuanjing

Oaxaca, MX

"Once we push the gate of the mind slightly ajar and let the light stream in, the meaning of life becomes silently revealed to us. The gate may be open for one minute or for one hour, but in that period we discover the secret, and neither weary time nor bitter woe can tear that priceless knowledge away from us."

~Paul Bruton, The Secret Path


Love, love....Oaxaca!! Even though I just recently made it back home...to 20 inches of snow no less. I will still be posting some photos of my trip in Mexico. Oaxaca was one of my favorite places.

Looking for a job...anyone got suggestions...? I'll go anywhere...hehehe...anywhere interesting that is...

Trust

"No more words. Hear only the voice with in." ~Rumi


Long time since I've written. I guess I've been hiding out too long. The last several months I have found myself hyper-sensitive to everything around me. And, somehow with all the feelings that have bombarded me...honestly, I have had a hard time channeling it...dealing with it all. It's not necessarily a bad thing...moving from a thinking mind to a feeling presence is something I am trying to grow into. Its just this damn sensitivity I'm experiencing...sometimes it feels as if its too big for me to handle...but somehow it ends up okay when I allow it to flow no matter how painful it is...I don't mean to paint a dismal picture...because honestly it doesn't have to be that way...I guess when observing, listening...being...so much comes to the surface that may have been hiding under a cloud of distraction...or delusion.

I spent the last two months in Mexico...what a beautiful country. What beautiful people. I went down there for nothing more than love. Yeah...call me a silly little girl...but its true...nothing more, nothing less. Was my love tested? I can definitely say...yes. But, has it wavered? I can without a doubt say...no. A relationship I feel can teach you many things. And, many times, I can see where I start not to trust...and become scared, insecure...often that can come out in a relationship. And, it all starts with me...not the other person. Its unbelievable how another one can become a mirror. Yes, yes...I have much to learn...but that's why I'm here...or else I would have graduated to the land of enlightenment...haha...

Above all...my trip to Mexico taught me many things...and I had the pleasure of seeing much of the country...traveling from northern Mexico all the way south...amazing. And to my wonderful tour guide and boyfriend...you are something truly special. I admire your humanity. I'm in awe with all that you give. Part of the intrigue is that you don't even realize just how wonderful you are. Faith and trust in something bigger and larger than us is all we have...and I know it will see us through. I love you.

Huathulco, MX

"Something we were withholding made us weak until we found it was ourselves."

~Robert Frost

Making Waves

To see the world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

~William Blake

The Seat

The seat (asana) should have the dual qualities of steadiness (sthira) and lightness (sukha). These qualities can be achieved by observing the reactions of the breath and body. From there the individual's dualities cease to disturb. Upon perfect stillness of the seat the uncontrolled and disturbed movements of the breath reduce (pranayama). The internal and external fluctuations of breath become soft and subtle when the transition (sthamba) between each breath becomes increasingly measured. The breath may then transcend consciousness (the thinking mind).

~YSP, 2:46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

Mexico's West Coast

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thought. With our thoughts, we make the world."

~The Buddha

"When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." ~Lao Tzu

More Pyramids...

If you come to me at this moment, your minutes will become hours, your hours will become days, and your days will become a lifetime.

~from Letter 74, excerpt from, A Novel in Letter, by Gregory Colbert

I gazed upon all of the edens that had fallen in me. I saw edens that I had in my hands, but had let go. I saw promises I did not keep, pains I did not soothe, wounds I did not heal, tears I did not shed. I saw deaths I did not mourn, prayers I did not answer, doors I did not open, doors I did not close, lovers I left behind, and dreams I did not live. I saw all that was offered to me that I could not accept. I saw the letters I wished for, but never received. I saw all that could have been, but never will be.

~from Letter 351, excerpt from, A Novel in Letters, by Gregory Colbert

Teotihuacan

"The really valuable thing is intuition. Through mediation I found answers before I asked the question. Imagination is more important than knowledge."

~Albert Einstein