Another Day, Another View

There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and nothing worth killing for.

~ Tom Robbins

In the last several days I've been going through a process of simplification, purification, and a stripping down, if you will. Isn't it interesting, when reaching greater states of well-being, in essence, has nothing to do with adding anything.

We live in a culture where more is better. We live in a culture where the mention of "spreading the wealth around" is considered negative. I don't get it. If I am missing something than please, fill me in.

The wallpaper on my computer contains a picture of the earth from space. Often I look at it, pondering, how silly all this division and separation we are bombarded with on a daily basis is. We live on this one planet. We are one people. Yeah, I was born in America, but that label is only identified with the small part of myself.

Some may not understand where I am coming from...and I don't mind. I've made friends with just about every type of person. Even right-winged conservatives from Texas. Doesn't matter to me.

What troubles me is the small, but powerful, subset that does everything it can to exaggerate the separateness in the world...feeding on the us versus them mentality.

In the end, however, the negativity has a way of imploding on itself. There is really no need to fight it. Because, behind the scenes lives a Truth that is all powerful and self-sustaining. Gandhi new it. Mandela did too. It only takes patience and trust, while in the mist of everything, staying steadfast to the power that lies within.

Jesus said, "the meek shall inherit the earth." Which can be interpreted as the humble. I mean, those who yell and scream rhetoric may take the stage for a time, but really, it's becoming laughable to what ends people will go through to lie, and stand on a foundation without an ounce of integrity.

True power has nothing to do with force. It has everything to do with yielding. Maybe a challenging concept to understand, I myself don't fully grasp the meaning, but the places where I've let go, to my amazement, what filled the space unleashed something bigger and more magical than I can even offer to explain. The miracle is the fact that we all share it.

We waste our time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.

~ Tom Robbins

In Taiwan, family is a big deal. Togetherness is the hallmark. In the U.S., personal space is a bit beyond arms length. Here, I've learned, personal space is just about shoulder to shoulder. People like to be close to one another. Right away you become part of the family. Right away there is acceptance. People are sincerely humble. It's been quite fascinating. It's softened me.

I always get the question about marriage, naturally. They ask me if I desire to get married? Do I want to have children? And I really don't have a solid answer.

Simply put, I haven't had a relationship that merited marriage. Long ago, in my past, I felt it was something that I wanted because it was what was supposed to happen next in life. But, now I just don't know.

I don't want a relationship where we feed on each other's weaknesses...filling each other's gaps. I desire a partnership where both people are intent on filling there own cup...living their passions...and then, come together in the bliss of there 'own' happiness and fulfillment.

I would rather be with someone that desires to stand by me because the truly want to be there....not because they are locked into a marriage...or because they just don't want to be alone.

I will always believe in love. This is true.

At any rate, it's an interesting time in my life. Let's just say I'm open. Open to whatever. I'm not saying yes. I'm not saying no.

View Point

When they tell you to grow up, they mean stop growing.

~ Tom Robbins

Over the past year, I've of done a fair amount of travel, and remarkably, I've been both fascinated and amazed at the level of interest the world has for the upcoming U.S presidential election. The world is watching.

It's pretty clear that I support Obama. I don't support any one political party, but I do support his vision. I support what he stands for. I support what he represents. The consensus is pretty clear, throughout the rest of the world...its Obama all the way.

What is even more interesting is this. For the most part, people like Americans. The world looks to the U.S. for its innovation, ingenuity, and inspiration. In no way have I talked with someone from a foreign land that wants to see this country fail. Even those I have spoken to from the middle east...(gasp). Yes, many have asked, sincerely, with utmost concern...what is up with your president?...we don't get it?...please, I'd like to understand. Many times, I'm left speechless, because I don't get it either. I've never been a big fan of George W. Bush's policies, but when it comes to the topic of our president, there isn't much I can say, except that I hope we can some day have a more positive standing in the world.

It has been a fortunate pleasure to dialogue with people from all over, gathering a host of varying perspectives on life, love, spirituality, family and human folly. And I have to say, traveling and connecting with people from other countries and cultures has been one of the best things I have ever done and have experienced.

I've learned through our captivating and colorful differences...that have a way of making life so refreshing and complete... that we are alike, in more ways than one. We are more alike than many media portals would like to portray. We are more alike than we have been lead to believe. And I am filled with gratitude to have experienced the oneness we all share. I feel lucky to have been taught this at a young age from my parents. It set the stage. However, it is one thing to have a mental concept of it, and it is another to actually go out and live it, breathe it, taste it.

I've always been a person that desired the direct experience.

There are differences too. Beautiful, thought provoking differences, that when willing, have unlocked a part of myself. Every culuture, has taught me something. Every place has opened my mind where I didn't even realize were closed and or intolerant.

It simply feels good to garner greater acceptance, and deeper understanding. Why walk through life blind?

So, in the end, no matter which way the election turns out, I myself will continue to do the work as best I can.

I remember the Doaist telling me that it can be easy to fall into the trap of making my yoga practice all about vanity. Good point. I'm stepping into a new area within were there has to be more...and there is.

When it becomes more about life than the form. When it becomes more about abudance than lack. When it becomes more about the dance than the dancer. When it becomes more about connection than being right.

1 Giant Leap

1 Giant Leap

We Are The Ones

One Voice

Free Hugs

Peace Music Video

Top 20 Things Oprah Knows for Sure

1. What you put out comes back all the time, no matter what. (This is my creed.)

2. You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script.

3. Whatever someone did to you in the past has no power over the present. Only you give it power.

4. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. (A lesson from Maya Angelou.)

5. Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you.

6. What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe.

7. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. (From the German theologian and humanist Meister Eckhart.)

8. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.

9. Failure is a signpost to turn you in another direction.

10. If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.

11. Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn't lie.

12. Love yourself and then learn to extend that love to others in every encounter.

13. Let passion drive your profession.

14. Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus.

15. Love doesn't hurt. It feels really good.

16. Every day brings a chance to start over.

17. Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. Women everywhere must declare it so.

18. Doubt means don't. Don't move. Don't answer. Don't rush forward.

19. When you don't know what to do, get still. The answer will come.

20. "Trouble don't last always." (A line from a Negro spiritual, which calls to mind another favorite: This, too, shall pass.)

Oprah Winfrey

Practice

Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.

~ Tom Robbins

I haven't spoke on the topic of yoga practice lately. Sincerely, I feel due to work with a teacher. This has been the longest stint for me. Les Brown says...you can't see the picture when you are in the frame. It's always a positive experience to have another set of eyes guide one along. But, the spaces between working extensively with a teacher are enriching. The interlude gives me a chance to absorb and grow into the expansion. I have definitely felt that calling after my 4 month stay in Mysore, India last year. I was blessed with many insights physically and internally...and to then put it all into practice and experience it on my own is a priceless undertaking. I took the time to closely look at things. A marinating of sorts.

By cultivating a fairly strong self-practice it has given me the freedom and discipline to roll out my mat just about anywhere, and everywhere...and believe me...I have!! Some places haven't been the most conducive...others were just right. I guess that is where the true practice of yoga begins...no matter where...no matter what the external environment entails...it gives us the opportunity to dig deep and find the serenity that lies within.

Yes. I'm on the quest of tapping into the teacher within. But also, surrounding oneself in a community is important. Standing in the presence of someone who exemplifies IT...you feel it...you know it...they know it...they see you...they see the potential that you aren't even aware of or know you have. It is nice to get that push. To be inspired. Learning to surrender. Stepping outside of thinking I know.

I see the benefit. Both are important. Establishing a self-practice that you can take with you anywhere is empowering. Directing oneself from the inside out. Because inevitably, we must walk through it alone. In the end, it is up to us to trust that we can. But also, asking for help and knowing that it is needed...there is an act of strength in that as well. For we are all truly connected, and having the assistance to walk forward is a beautiful thing.

The physical intensity of my practice may have wavered a bit. But, the intensity of my devotion...the desire to connect to the Higher aspect has grown. The Essence...call it God...call it whatever you like is the main player in this whole game.

How many of us can honestly say we have fallen to our knees and been willing to give it all up?...all of it...just to get a taste of what it would be like...to enter in...and cease...to cease what it is that you thought you ever knew about this life? Then, my friend, let me just say...that is where living really begins to take on a whole new shape...

Aloneness vs. Lonliness

Our similarities bring us common ground; Our differences allow us to be fascinated by each other."

~ Tom Robbins

Solitude. The word for my existence the last several days. New environment. New students. New apartment. New places to eat.

Same 7-eleven on every corner...oddly. Same practice. Same routine.

The loneliness I've felt in the past year has moved on to alone-ness. In loneliness there is lack. In alone-ness there is fulfillment. In loneliness there is sadness. In alone-ness there is contentment. In loneliness there is apathy. In alone-ness there's aliveness.

With little distraction, I've been pushed to step inside.

With a language I can hardly speak, I've had to learn to communicate differently, expressing myself with awareness, and observing what I'm feeling, versus winding it out through my mind and deciphering it into language. Rationalizing. Making excuses. I can't even come close to playing that game anymore, and when given the opportunity to really...REALLY...look at oneself it can be startling. Call it a big old wake up call. It can be beautiful, as well...to finally step inside...where as before, I would do everything else first, not to do so. Oh, how we run from ourselves...without even realizing it. On so many levels.

One day, I'll look at this opportunity as a good one. At some point, I'm sure it will culminate into something I can't even comprehend. The process of being in this moment right here, right now. I can learn. I can grow. Through experience.

Words of Wisdom by BKS Iyengar

Yoga is like music, the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and
the harmony of the soul, create the symphony of life.

Yoga is the golden key which unlocks the door
To peace, tranquility, and joy.

Activity and passivity
Must go together in asanas.

An intellectual mind that is unconnected to the heart
Is an uncultivated mind.

Asanas will help to transform an individual
By taking the person away from an
Awareness of just the body, toward the
Consciousness of the soul.

Health is firmness in body, stability in mind, and clarity in thinking.
It a mirror is clean, it reflects objects clearly…
…Health is the mirror of man.

The long and uninterrupted practice of asanas,
Done with awareness,
Will bring success.

For a yogi, the body is the laboratory for
Perpetual experiment and research.

The capital we are born with,
The human body,
Remains unutilized for most of us.

Yoga has to be done with the intellect of the head
As well as the intellect of the heart.

Yoga aims for complete awareness in whatever you do.

Regular practice of Yoga can help you face the turmoil of life with
Steadiness and stability.

All of us have a dormant spark of divinity in us which has to be
Fanned into flames by yoga.

When stability becomes a habit,
Maturity and clarity follow.

Our body is the bow and the asanas are the arrows to hit the target - the soul.

Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within.

Do not stop trying just because perfection eludes you.

The philosophy of pain is to conquer it.

Pain comes to guide you. Pain is your guru.

Limited knowledge can only give limited experience.

Learning can be acquired but wisdom has to be earned.

Use each experience as a stepping stone.

All may be able to do Yoga, but
Only one in a million is fit to be called
A Yogi.

To bring the mind to a state of innocence
Without ignorance, is meditation.

Persistent practice alone is the key to Yoga.

Service for humanity is service to God, and the mean for that is Yoga.

Yoga is for all of us. To limit yoga to national or cultural boundaries is the denial of universal consciousness.

Freedom with true discipline
Is true freedom.

What I was is unimportant,
What I am now is important.

Yoga is a light which, once lit, will never dim.
The better you practice, the brighter the flame.

Just as a goldsmith purifies gold, so must the body constantly be purified and purged, so that the inner gold may shine through.

The body is your temple.
Keep it pure and clean,
For the soul to reside in.

The body is my temple and asanas are my prayers.

Asanas penetrate deep into each layer of the body and ultimately into consciousness itself.

Words cannot convey the value of Yoga - it has to be experienced.

A crooked body means a crooked mind.

Yoga is the union of the individual Self with the universal Self.

Without experiencing human love and happiness,
It is not possible to know divine love.

Before peace between the nations,
We have to find peace inside that small nation,
Which is our own being.

Your body is your child, look after it.

A good book is better than a bad teacher.

There is willpower beyond the intellect.

When there is strain, it is physical yoga.
When the brain is passive, it is spiritual yoga.

When the pose is correct, there is a lightness, a freedom.
When it is heavy, it is wrong.

To be dull is easy,
To be active requires tremendous work.

Singularity of purpose should be your aim.

My ending should be your beginning.

In Balance

Priviliged Lovers

The Privileged Lovers

The moon has become a dancer
at this festival of love.
This dance of light,
This sacred blessing,
This divine love,
beckons us
to a world beyond
only lovers can see
with their eyes of fiery passion.
They are chosen ones
Who have surrendered.
Once they were particles of light
now they are the radiant sun.
They have left behind the world of deceitful games.
They are the privileged lovers
who create a new world
with their eyes of fiery passion.

~ Rumi

This could very well be my favorite Rumi poem. So hard to choose. No need to choose. They are all so special. They all carry resonance...sparking something inside that is impossible to explain.

Yesterday I finished a four part workshop series in Chaiyi, consisting of Ashtanga Yoga Principles and Practice, Bandhas and Awakening the Core, Jumping back/Jumping through, and Backbending.

Most in the group were from the farther southern reaches of Taiwan, and they brought up the topic of me going down by Tainon and Kaoshsiung to teach for several months next year. So, we'll see what happens on that front.

However, at the present, I'm in Taichung doing my best to spur on the practice of Ashtanga Yoga in a fast paced city. Ashtanga Yoga is still young here. Besides Taipei, it's unknown to many. Which makes the process fun. It's Mr. Wang's vision to spread the word of Mysore style practice to as many people as he can. He has such passion for it. Let's just say he has more passion for it in his pinky finger than I have in my whole body...haha...and, anyone who knows me, and knows me well...knows I have a strong passion for it as well.

With that being said...I'm gonna go practice.

The Dream That Must Be Interpreted

This place is a dream.

Only a sleeper considers it real.

Then death comes like dawn,

and you wake up laughing

at what you thought was your grief.

But there's a difference with this dream.

Everything cruel and unconscious

done in the illusion of the present world,

all that does not fade away at the death-waking.

It stays,

and it must be interpreted.

All the mean laughing,

all the quick, sexual wanting,

those torn coats of Joseph,

they change into powerful wolves

that you must face.

The retaliation that sometimes comes now,

the swift, payback hit,

is just a boy's game

to what the other will be.

You know about circumcision here.

It's full castration there!

And this groggy time we live,

this is what it's like:

A man goes to sleep in the town

where he has always lived, and he dreams he's living

in another town.

In the dream, he doesn't remember

the town he's sleeping in his bed in. He believes

the reality of the dream town.

The world is that kind of sleep.

The dust of many crumbled cities

settles over us like a forgetful doze,

but we are older than those cities.

We began as a mineral. We emerged into plant life

and into the animal state, and then into being human,

and always we have forgotten our former states,

except in early spring when we slightly recall

being green again.

That's how a young person turns

toward a teacher. That's how a baby leans

toward the breast, without knowing the secret

of its desire, yet turning instinctively.

Humankind is being led along an evolving course,

through this migration of intelligences,

and though we seem to be sleeping,

there is an inner wakefulness

that directs the dream,

and that will eventually startle us back

to the truth of who we are.

~ Rumi

Who Says Words With My Mouth?

All day I think about it, then at night I say it.

Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?

I have no idea.

My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,

and I intend to end up there.

This drunkenness began in some other tavern.

When I get back around to that place,

I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,

I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.

The day is coming when I fly off,

but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?

Who says words with my mouth?

Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?

I cannot stop asking.

If I could taste one sip of an answer,

I could break out of this prison for drunks.

I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.

Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.

This poetry, I never know what I'm going to say.

I don't plan it.

When I'm outside the saying of it,

I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

~ Rumi

Yes We Can

How nice to be inspired by, Yes it's possible, Oneness, Equality, Unity and Hope for greater change...vs. division, separation, more war, fear and terror.

Doah! Back on Coffee

Well...a while back I declared that I quit coffee. Hahahahahaha. What a joke! It's true...what you resist, persists.

Ever since landing in Taiwan, I've had coffee given to me as a gift...on numerous occasions. Unbelievable. Students, friends, and acquaintances have taken me to a multitude of various coffee shops...I can't even count. I was even treated to a tour of an organic coffee plantation.

I met a young man who owns a coffee shop with the biggest passion for the brew I've ever met, as well. He smiles from ear to ear, talking expressively about cup's of joe...all the while whipping up his creations of lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas...like a painter paints on canvas. Each cup a work of art. Coffee guy...as me and a friend secretly call him, is sight to behold. He literally puts Starbucks to shame...making a cup, twice as good, at a quarter of the price. He blushed when I told him that.

I don't know how to explain it...java has been put before me everywhere I turn....how can I say NO?

I'm so weak!!!

So, when I start to feel over caffeinated, once again...in a future post...surely, you will hear of my next attempt at quitting.

Sigh. The woes of coffee.

But, maybe I've missed the point?! There is something I love about coffee...can't really put my finger on it...

Anyhow, I must share a post, from a fellow blogger I follow...a lovely commentary..on the blessed brew, coffee...Faces, lives.

12 Symptoms of your Awakening Divinity

I read this and thought it was interesting. In any case, I don't really have an opinion on it either way, except to say that it comes pretty darn close to PMS.

By Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias

1. Body aches and pains, especially in the neck, shoulder and back. This is the result of intense changes at your Spiritual DNA level as the "Divine seed" awakens within. This shall pass.

2. Feeling of deep inner sadness for no apparent reason. You are releasing your past (this lifetime and others) and this causes the feeling of sadness. This is similar to the experience of moving from a house where you lived in for many, many years into a new house. As much as you want to move into the new house, there is a sadness of leaving behind the memories, energy and experiences of the old house. This too shall pass.

3. Crying for no apparent reason. Similar to #2 above. It's good and healthy to let the tears flow. It helps to release the old energy within. This too shall pass.

4. Sudden change in job or career. A very common symptom. As you change, things around you will change as well. Don't worry about finding the "perfect" job or career right now. This too shall pass. You're in transition and you may make several job changes before you settle into one that fits your passion.

5. Withdrawal from family relationships. You are connected to your biological family via old karma. When you get off the karmic cycle, the bonds of the old relationships are released. It will appear as though you are drifting away from your family and friends. This too shall pass. After a period of time, you may develop a new relationship with them if it is appropriate. However, the relationship will be based in a new energy without the karmic attachments.

6. Unusual sleep patterns. It's likely that you'll awaken many nights between 2:00 – 4:00 AM. There's a lot of work going on within you, and it often causes you to wake up for a "breather." Not to worry. If you can't go back to sleep, get up and do something rather than lay in bed and worry about humanly things. This too shall pass.

7. Intense dreams. These might include war and battle dreams, chase dreams or monster dreams. You are literally releasing the old energy within, and these energies of the past are often symbolized as wars, running to escape and boogiemen. This too shall pass.

8. Physical disorientation. At times you'll feel very ungrounded. You'll be "spatially challenged" with the feeling like you can't put two feet on the ground, or that you're walking between two worlds. As your consciousness transitions into the new energy, you body sometimes lags behind. Spend more time in nature to help ground the new energy within. This too shall pass.

9. Increased "self talk." You'll find yourself talking to your Self more often. You'll suddenly realize you've been chattering away with yourself for the past 30 minutes. There is a new level of communication taking place within your being, and you're experiencing the tip of the iceberg with the self talk. The conversations will increase, and they will become more fluid, more coherent and more insightful. You're not going crazy, you're just Shaumbra (Lightworkers) moving into the new energy.

10. Feelings of loneliness, even when in the company of others. You may feel alone and removed from others. You may feel the desire to "flee" groups and crowds. As Shaumbra (Lightworkers), you are walking a sacred and lonely path. As much as the feelings of loneliness cause you anxiety, it is difficult to relate to others at this time. The feelings of loneliness are also associated with the fact that your Guides have departed. They have been with you on all of your journeys in all of your lifetimes. It was time for them to back away so you could fill your space with your own divinity. This too shall pass. The void within will be filled with the love and energy of your own True Divinity.

11. Loss of passion. You may feel totally disimpassioned, with little or no desire to do anything. That's OK, and it's just part of the process. Take this time to "do no-thing." Don't fight yourself on this, because this too shall pass. It's similar to rebooting a computer. You need to shut down for a brief period of time in order to load the sophisticated new software, or in this case, the Divine-Self energy.

12. A deep longing to go Home. This is perhaps the most difficult and challenging of any of the conditions. You may experience a deep and overwhelming desire to leave the planet and return to Home. This is not a "suicidal" feeling. It is not based in anger or frustration. You don't want to make a big deal of it or cause drama for yourself or other. There is a quiet part of you that wants to go Home. The root cause for this is quite simple. You have completed your karmic cycles. You have completed your contract for this lifetime. You are ready to begin a new lifetime while still in this physical body. During this transition process, you have an inner remembrances of what it is like to be on the other side. Are you ready to enlist for another tour of duty here on Earth? Are you ready to take on the challenges of moving into the New Energy? Yes, indeed you could go Home right now. But you've come this far, and after many, many lifetimes it would be a shame to leave before the end of the movie. Besides, Spirit needs you here to help others transition into this new energy. They will need a human guide, just like you, who has taken the journey from the old energy into the new. The path you're walking right now provides the experiences to enable you to become a Teacher of the New Divine Human. As lonely and dark as your journey can be at times, remember that you are never alone.

The Self We Share

Thirst is angry with water. Hunger bitter

with bread.The cave wants nothing to do

with the sun. This is dumb, the self-

defeating way we've been. A gold mine is

calling us into its temple. Instead, we

bend and keep picking up rocks from the

ground. Every thing has a shine like gold,

but we should turn to the source! The

origin is what we truly are. I add a little

vinegar to the honey I give. The bite of

scolding makes ecstasy more familiar. But

look, fish, you're already in the ocean:

just swimming there makes you friends with

glory. What are these grudges about? You

are Benjamin. Joseph has put a gold cup

in your grain sack and accused you of being

a thief. Now he draws you aside and says,

"You are my brother. I am a prayer. You're

the amen." We move in eternal regions, yet

worry about property here. This is the

prayer of each: You are the source of my

life. You separate essence from mud. You

honor my soul. You bring rivers from the

mountain springs. You brighten my eyes. The

wine you offer takes me out of myself into

the self we share. Doing that is religion.

~ Rumi