Find Inspiration - Give Inspiration

I recently spent the weekend backpacking and brought a photography book to read. It's amazing how words from a stranger can inspire you. I have always loved sharing ideas and hearing ideas, there is something about the power of words. This particular weekend the words poured out of the book, into me, and I felt recharged creatively. Sometimes someone touches your soul without knowing it, they help you without expecting to. This is why I teach. If something I say can someday help someone the way my teachers in life have helped me, I will have made a difference. I will have returned the favor and passed on the love.

I just came across the words below that speak to me about the climb. Our dharma peaks; our passions, visions, and goals. I suggest you read the entire thing, very inspiring regardless of your career path. Very strong thoughts on following your vision. This was written by a photographer which is part of why I love it!

In closing, I want to take you to Switzerland where I also teach. Imagine a mountain before you. You see its peak and want to climb up to the top. It is your life’s goal. Start by standing back far enough to confirm it is really there, then head straight for it knowing it will disappear from sight for most of your life as you climb and meander the hidden forest trails that lift you ever higher even as many sections force you to drop down into the mountainside pockets of disappointment or even despair, but you will be climbing soon enough and always headed toward your goal.

There will be those special occasions — and may there be many of them — when the fruits of your labors are suddenly made visible, to be celebrated, when you will again see the peak, only closer now, giving you confidence to step forward ever more briskly and bravely.

At one point the tree line will thin out the way hair on the top of an old man begins to bald away, but the air will be clear and the path sure.

At the top you will delight in what you have accomplished. You look around you and see just how far you have come. But then your turn around and as you do you become aware of mountain peaks far higher than what you had ever dreamed of, peaks that from the distance when you first looked up were not even there, completely hidden from your view.

And now, there they are, huge peaks but your climbing days are done.

You have three choices: You can look up with raging jealousy and end your days in sadness and regret. Or you can look down at all the distance you climbed, become arrogant about every step you took and not have many friends with whom to share your closing days.

Or you can skim the horizon and take in the gorgeous sweep of the panorama before you. If you can do that you will know peace and rare humility.

We do not have to be number one in this world. We only have to be number one to ourselves. There is a special peace that comes with such humility. When you reach this peak in life, you’ve reached the highest mountain peak of them all.

Read the rest here.

Samskaras

Every once in awhile someone says something on facebook worth pausing and thinking about. This week I've been thinking a lot about habits (good and bad), conditioning, and personality traits. Someone posted a B.K.S. Iyengar quote that was perfect for what's been on my mind.

"Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured."

For me, it's a tricky balance between trying to change something and learning to accept it. The more I study and explore, the more I appreciate that some things I think are "bad" aren't actually bad. This leads me to thinking about samskaras; habits, conditioning, patterns. I sometimes wonder how many of them are things we can change verses things we can't change. Change is pretty scary on every level and a lot of people don't seem to like change. Moving, getting married, and switching jobs are nothing compared to the internal changes that yoga can inspire. I used to think about the difference between change and growth. That idea has come back to me now. I feel like I am not who I was and am also exactly the same. I feel like in a lot of ways I haven't changed but I have definitely grown. I notice such things a lot around family where many of my patterns first formed. For example, I still get really mad at my big brother but I am much better at dealing with it and loving him anyway!

"Be careful in casting out your devil ‘lest you cast out the best thing about you."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

It's ok!

I'm not sure what it is that puts so much pressure on us to succeed. Even with Yoga I find myself trying to achieve. I even talk about it as climbing a peak. But even though I think and try to believe things like "It's the journey, not the destination" or "It's the climb, not the summit" I still want to reach the destination. I still want to reach the summit. Recently we went backpacking to Nine Lakes Basin with the possible goal of climbing Mt. Stewart. When we got there I knew I wasn't going to try for the summit and I was disappointed for a moment. Eventually I realized that where we were was enough. It was a beautiful hike and had I considered not summiting something a "failure" I wouldn't be doing the trail and all of its highlights justice.

I think that this is sort of what we talk about when we say the purpose of yoga is yoga. Or when we practice non-attachment or any of those other challenging yoga concepts that make us pause. Take the meditation practice I have been writing about lately. We want to be good at it. We want it to be easier. What about just witnessing? What about how awesome the present is? What about how much we learn about ourselves because of the challenge?

Maybe we shouldn't set out to change. Maybe we just set out to "witness" and change happens on its own... or it doesn't. Where we are going is important but where we are could be enough.

Meditation

In my last post I mentioned meditation briefly in passing. I finally downloaded the Insight Timer app on my iphone. It has the "yoga bells" and allows you to track your meditation stats. It also has a cool journal feature that pops up after the session. I love it because I get excited as I see the counter grow showing how much meditation I've logged.

I've been thinking about meditation a lot differently lately. I have a very active mind and the idea of quieting it has always seemed impossible. Lately I've realized that I don't need to see the thoughts as "bad" (especially when they aren't bad thoughts.) I can have thoughts and I undoubtedly will have thoughts. The trick is what I do next. Do I dwell on the thoughts or do I let them go and return to my focus of my meditation? Do I accept them as fact or do I watch them and recognize them for what they are? Emotion, judgement, planning, exaggerating... What part of the thought is truth if any? Once I let go of my expectations in meditation I've been able to enjoy it. Once I let go of trying to be "good at it" I could just sit.