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.

Time Out

There's a Edward Abbey quote that is sort of a mantra for us, there's a line in it

that states:

"Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure."

The quote is a reminder for balance in life. Work hard, play hard. As we were driving up to Kings Canyon National park yesterday Marc said, "This week we'll flip it. Play hard, work hard." We were taking a Monday off to get out into nature and recharge. We were stressed and tired and had a to-do list twenty pages long and we ran away from our responsibilities to explore the National Park. We weren't really running away because we knew we'd be right back. We just needed a break, a recharge. A little self-love. (Meditation helps with that too.)

Our Future is Calling

Sometimes my best days are the ones I get up early and hang out at a coffee shop. I remember in college I used to love studying at a coffee shop while Marc wanted to be at the library. I love sitting here watching people starting their days while listening to whatever music is playing intermixed with the grind of the espresso machine and vibrant conversations. When I get up and get out of the house I am so much more productive than when I slump from bed to the office without a good start to the day. Running also works but as it gets hotter here, our motivation to wake up earlier and earlier to beat the heat wanes. We've decided to swim on lunch breaks instead.

At the coffee shop I bring three things:
1. something to work on
2. something to read
3. something to write

In the office I am often only working. The pressure of the white board to-do list and my ever growing inbox leaves little room for reading and writing.

Marc had this little book by Justin Zoradi chilling on his pile yesterday so I stole it for my Monday morning read. I love when I get my hands on inspiring words that encourage living life with purpose. I am so glad this book ended up in my pile this morning.

Last week Marc and I had the opportunity to present/talk about our photography and adventures. Our message was simple. Love. Adventurously. The friends that we have and the things that we have done make it impossible for us to choose anything other than living an adventurous life. Everyone has their "thing" that they love and carve our time for. For us, it's adventure, it's getting outside and exploring. We realized we have to make it a priority. The work hard, play hard recipe only works if you work hard first. Justin talks about this when he says "Don't follow your passion, follow your time." Passion alone is temporary, he compares it to caffeine or a spark. We won't feel passionate, inspired, or motivated every day. Somedays we'll have to push ourselves to live passionatly. Where are we spending those finite hours of our day? What choices are we making with how to spend our day? Do we schedule time for our health, our relationships, our dreams? Where we spend our time tells us what our priorities are. On top of my to-do list I put a quote as a reminder of this, "Dreams don't work if you don't."

I am always trying to follow my passions. That doesn't mean that because I love what i do, it's easy. That's where the main disconnect is for people when they say that they wish they could quit their job and do something they love like I did. They think they can't because they don't have some secret easy trail to follow. There is no trail. You bushwhack the whole way. Climbing dharma peak, following your calling, being inspired everyday... it all takes work and effort. (Tapahs in yoga terms.) It takes all the things that Justin talks about none of which is luck. Yes, we are blessed with an opportunity. But we have to leap. We have to fight. Dreaming is not passive like it was when we were children. Dreaming takes work. The choice can be set in front of us, but we have to climb. I think that's why it's so scary. When did we start getting so scared? Scared of falling? Scared of failure?

Remembering the Victories

In light of our recent discussion about doing the "work" in our lives and on our selves from a place of love, I think it is important to remember the victories. It's helpful to remember our successes and use them as evidence for why we should keep climbing our mountains in life.

I was climbing the Middle Teton in Grand Teton National park with Marc. Every mountain I have climbed has taught me about my strengths and weaknesses. (Note: I have learned a lot about my weaknesses!) Mountains remind me of my humanity. My fears. How big the mountain is versus how small I am. For me it’s often a case of “I think I can, I think I can.” Only, I actually don’t think I can but I am hoping that if I say it enough I will start to believe it!

This trip to the Tetons was different. I knew I could. I was feeling strong and having fun. I was working hard but I felt powerful and unstoppable. I will never forget that feeling. It was a feeling I had been chasing. Many mountains have received tears of my frustration and pain. This mountain received tears of my joy and empowerment.

"The Rock Warrior's Way" by Arno Ilgner is one of my favorite books about both how to climb better and how to lives our lives better. The book essentially talks about mental training and the power of our mind to make us better at climbing or whatever it is we are trying to be better at. One of my many favorite concepts from the book is, "All the training in the world will have minimal benefit to you if you don't give yourself room to believe."

When I am teaching a power or vigorous yoga class and we are doing something hard or new, I always ask the students to first imagine it. Can we do the pose in our imaginations? I find that for some people it is hard to even just imagine it. If we can't see ourselves doing it in our minds when we don't actually have to do anything, how are we to ever actually do it?

A Sanskrit saying comes to mind. "Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoho." As the mind, so the man; bondage or liberation are in your own mind.

That is why it is important to me to remember the victories. If I have successes to remind myself of then I can believe in my ability to reach the summit, to kiss the summit marker, and to shed that tear of victory!