Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering " weaknesses and relationships."
Love is inseparable from knowledge.
-Saint Macarius of Egypt
When selfish desire is removed from a relationship, there is no hankering to get anything from the other person. We are free to give, which means we are free to love. Then we can give and support and strengthen without reservation.
Interestingly enough, it is only then that we really see each other clearly. The infatuated mind cannot help caricaturing: it sees only what it wants; then, when the desire passes, it sees only what it does not want. Two people who are really in love do not close their eyes to each other's weaknesses. They support each other in overcoming those weaknesses, so that each helps the other to grow.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to reflect about what your weaknesses may be and how those you are in relationship with can help you work through these weaknesses. Consider talking to these people and expressing your desire to overcome these weaknesses and share with them how you think they can help. Next, reach out to those you are in relationship with and offer your help in resolving, or working through, their weaknesses. Work on being gentle, patient, loving and compassionate.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Patience and Love
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering "patience and love."
Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. . . . The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of – of things longer.
– Jerome K. Jerome
Every morning, just after you step on the bathroom scale to make sure you haven’t put on an extra ounce when you weren’t looking, you can step on the scale of love and make sure your ego hasn’t put on any weight. The critical measure is your capacity to be equable and kind in everyday relationships.
We all tend to feel impatient when something we want is waiting round the corner; and we all occasionally get angry when that something slips away. The positive approach is to be aware enough of this cycle to say sincerely, “Tomorrow I am going to be a little more patient than I was today. The day after, I am going to be a little more self-controlled.” Working on equability every day yields results.
Where intimate relationships are concerned, your love should grow. Don’t ever be satisfied with telling your partner, “I love you every bit as much as that first time I saw you going up the escalator at Macy’s!” Love should never be static; it must never become stagnant. Fifty years after Macy’s you should be able to say, “I love you fifty times more than I did that first day.” That is true love speaking.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to work on developing patience and love. Start by cultivating patience and love for yourself. Be gentle and loving with yourself. Forgive yourself when you stray. Use positive affirmations and remind yourself that tomorrow you will be more patient, more loving and more forgiving. Extend this practice to all beings.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering "patience and love."
Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. . . . The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of – of things longer.
– Jerome K. Jerome
Every morning, just after you step on the bathroom scale to make sure you haven’t put on an extra ounce when you weren’t looking, you can step on the scale of love and make sure your ego hasn’t put on any weight. The critical measure is your capacity to be equable and kind in everyday relationships.
We all tend to feel impatient when something we want is waiting round the corner; and we all occasionally get angry when that something slips away. The positive approach is to be aware enough of this cycle to say sincerely, “Tomorrow I am going to be a little more patient than I was today. The day after, I am going to be a little more self-controlled.” Working on equability every day yields results.
Where intimate relationships are concerned, your love should grow. Don’t ever be satisfied with telling your partner, “I love you every bit as much as that first time I saw you going up the escalator at Macy’s!” Love should never be static; it must never become stagnant. Fifty years after Macy’s you should be able to say, “I love you fifty times more than I did that first day.” That is true love speaking.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to work on developing patience and love. Start by cultivating patience and love for yourself. Be gentle and loving with yourself. Forgive yourself when you stray. Use positive affirmations and remind yourself that tomorrow you will be more patient, more loving and more forgiving. Extend this practice to all beings.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Sunday, June 12, 2011
contemplation
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering "contemplation."
My mind withdrew its thoughts from experience, extracting itself from the contradictory throng of sensuous images, that it might find out what that light was wherein it was bathed. . . . And thus, with the flash of one hurried glance, it attained to the vision of That Which Is.
-Saint Augustine
Even when we are not speaking or acting, most of us find that our mind still goes on working - thinking, daydreaming, planning, worrying, eating up precious energy that should be going to the body to maintain health. In a sense, our mind is in overdrive all the time. But in meditation we can learn to shift the mind out of overdrive and down into fourth gear, then to third, to second, and eventually to first. We may even learn how to put our mind into neutral and park it for a while by the side of the road.
When we can do that, a much higher faculty - which the Hindus and Buddhists call prajna, "wisdom," - comes into play. Then we will find that we see deep into the heart of life, with fathomless patience at our disposal. When we have learned to park the mind even for a short period, so much vitality is conserved that every major system in the body gets a fresh lease on life.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to work on developing a contemplative practice. Something like seated meditation, walking meditation, prayer, chanting, or just choosing to be quiet for 10 minutes twice a day. Take this practice “off of the mat” and work to bring the practice into all areas of your life. Take this contemplativeness and expand it.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering "contemplation."
My mind withdrew its thoughts from experience, extracting itself from the contradictory throng of sensuous images, that it might find out what that light was wherein it was bathed. . . . And thus, with the flash of one hurried glance, it attained to the vision of That Which Is.
-Saint Augustine
Even when we are not speaking or acting, most of us find that our mind still goes on working - thinking, daydreaming, planning, worrying, eating up precious energy that should be going to the body to maintain health. In a sense, our mind is in overdrive all the time. But in meditation we can learn to shift the mind out of overdrive and down into fourth gear, then to third, to second, and eventually to first. We may even learn how to put our mind into neutral and park it for a while by the side of the road.
When we can do that, a much higher faculty - which the Hindus and Buddhists call prajna, "wisdom," - comes into play. Then we will find that we see deep into the heart of life, with fathomless patience at our disposal. When we have learned to park the mind even for a short period, so much vitality is conserved that every major system in the body gets a fresh lease on life.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to work on developing a contemplative practice. Something like seated meditation, walking meditation, prayer, chanting, or just choosing to be quiet for 10 minutes twice a day. Take this practice “off of the mat” and work to bring the practice into all areas of your life. Take this contemplativeness and expand it.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Compassion
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering "compassion."
That one I love who is incapable of ill will, and returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mine, and of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, of firm resolve, with all his heart and all his mind given to Me – with such a one I am in love.
– Bhagavad Gita
In personal relationships, we all get troubled when we do our best to be kind to someone and that person treats us with hostility or ill will in return. This is common in life today, and most of us quickly reach the end of our tether. “I don’t want to see you again,” we say. “I want to get as far away from you as possible!”
All of us have these human impulses. But that is just where the Gita or Jesus or the Buddha would say, “No. That is the way of the timid. That is the way of the weak.” Stick it out: not by becoming a doormat, not by blindly obeying whatever command the other person gives you, but by resolutely refusing to hurt anyone no matter how much you have been hurt. It is a great art.
Compassion comes with insight into the heart of life, as we see more clearly the unseen forces that drive a person into action. Ultimately, compassion extends to every creature.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is, in any inter-personal situation, to pause before you respond. During this pause consider if you are being impulsive or are being impatient, if you are, consider what it would take to turn your energy into compassion. Next remember that when extending compassion to all creatures to include yourself.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering "compassion."
That one I love who is incapable of ill will, and returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mine, and of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, of firm resolve, with all his heart and all his mind given to Me – with such a one I am in love.
– Bhagavad Gita
In personal relationships, we all get troubled when we do our best to be kind to someone and that person treats us with hostility or ill will in return. This is common in life today, and most of us quickly reach the end of our tether. “I don’t want to see you again,” we say. “I want to get as far away from you as possible!”
All of us have these human impulses. But that is just where the Gita or Jesus or the Buddha would say, “No. That is the way of the timid. That is the way of the weak.” Stick it out: not by becoming a doormat, not by blindly obeying whatever command the other person gives you, but by resolutely refusing to hurt anyone no matter how much you have been hurt. It is a great art.
Compassion comes with insight into the heart of life, as we see more clearly the unseen forces that drive a person into action. Ultimately, compassion extends to every creature.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is, in any inter-personal situation, to pause before you respond. During this pause consider if you are being impulsive or are being impatient, if you are, consider what it would take to turn your energy into compassion. Next remember that when extending compassion to all creatures to include yourself.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Junk Thoughts
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering "junk thoughts."
Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.
-Buddha
Today, many people are very well informed about nutrition. We worry about “junk food,” which is a legitimate concern, but shouldn’t we be just as worried by the low-grade food we sometimes feed our mind? There is junk food, yes. But there are also “junk thoughts.”
Take a close look at the entertainment pages of your newspaper, for example. We have become so used to this kind of fare that we seldom even question it. I can imagine what people who lived in the Dark Ages would say if they say today’s paper from the Bay area: “They think we lived in the Dark Ages! What about them?” Millions of people spend hours every day feeding their minds and the minds of their children with unadulterated junk.
It is not just a few nude scenes or explicit language, which are often more juvenile than alarming, but the terribly unkind attitudes people display toward each other on the screen, on stage, and on the printed page, which they vent in harsh words and harmful acts. All this goes into our minds and gets absorbed; it cannot help but resurface in our behavior. It is not that we want to live in a germ-free world, which is impossible, but we need to remember that mental states are affected by what we see, hear, and read every day.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to notice your thoughts more. Notice your negative thoughts and work to replace them with positive thoughts. Change negativity into love, anger into compassion. Remind yourself that negative behavior starts with negative thoughts.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering "junk thoughts."
Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.
-Buddha
Today, many people are very well informed about nutrition. We worry about “junk food,” which is a legitimate concern, but shouldn’t we be just as worried by the low-grade food we sometimes feed our mind? There is junk food, yes. But there are also “junk thoughts.”
Take a close look at the entertainment pages of your newspaper, for example. We have become so used to this kind of fare that we seldom even question it. I can imagine what people who lived in the Dark Ages would say if they say today’s paper from the Bay area: “They think we lived in the Dark Ages! What about them?” Millions of people spend hours every day feeding their minds and the minds of their children with unadulterated junk.
It is not just a few nude scenes or explicit language, which are often more juvenile than alarming, but the terribly unkind attitudes people display toward each other on the screen, on stage, and on the printed page, which they vent in harsh words and harmful acts. All this goes into our minds and gets absorbed; it cannot help but resurface in our behavior. It is not that we want to live in a germ-free world, which is impossible, but we need to remember that mental states are affected by what we see, hear, and read every day.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to notice your thoughts more. Notice your negative thoughts and work to replace them with positive thoughts. Change negativity into love, anger into compassion. Remind yourself that negative behavior starts with negative thoughts.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Saturday, May 14, 2011
What does it mean to “make a contribution to life” and what is “pure consciousness."
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering what it means to “make a contribution to life” and what “pure consciousness” means.
Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to us.
– Leon Trotsky
When the first grey hair appears on our head, it is a critical juncture in life. We go to the mirror with a sinking feeling of dread and try to pluck out the evidence – one here, two there. But the more we pull out, the more seem to come in.
I tease my friends by asking which of them would like to relive their adolescence. It always brings a groan. Youth has a lot to offer, but so does the experience of age. In India we have a joke about a man going to a barber and asking, “Do you have anything for grey hair?” “Yes,” the barber says, “respect.” Just because we don’t have wrinkles or a grey hair, we are not necessarily alive in the fullest sense of the word. Real living comes from making a contribution to life.
This is the paradox of life: when we cling to the body, it loses its beauty. But when we do not cling to the body – and use it as an instrument given us to serve others – it glows with a special beauty, as we can see from the lives of many great saints and mystics. When our consciousness becomes pure, even the body begins to reflect its light.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to figure out for you what it means to “make a contribution to life” and what “pure consciousness” means. Consider how your yoga practice can help you answer these questions and support you in making a contribution to life and to develop pure consciousness.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering what it means to “make a contribution to life” and what “pure consciousness” means.
Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to us.
– Leon Trotsky
When the first grey hair appears on our head, it is a critical juncture in life. We go to the mirror with a sinking feeling of dread and try to pluck out the evidence – one here, two there. But the more we pull out, the more seem to come in.
I tease my friends by asking which of them would like to relive their adolescence. It always brings a groan. Youth has a lot to offer, but so does the experience of age. In India we have a joke about a man going to a barber and asking, “Do you have anything for grey hair?” “Yes,” the barber says, “respect.” Just because we don’t have wrinkles or a grey hair, we are not necessarily alive in the fullest sense of the word. Real living comes from making a contribution to life.
This is the paradox of life: when we cling to the body, it loses its beauty. But when we do not cling to the body – and use it as an instrument given us to serve others – it glows with a special beauty, as we can see from the lives of many great saints and mystics. When our consciousness becomes pure, even the body begins to reflect its light.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to figure out for you what it means to “make a contribution to life” and what “pure consciousness” means. Consider how your yoga practice can help you answer these questions and support you in making a contribution to life and to develop pure consciousness.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Ahimsa
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering Ahimsa.
Ahimsa is the attribute of the soul, and therefore, to be practiced by everybody in all affairs of life. If it cannot be practiced in all departments, it has no practical value.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Ahimsa is usually translated as "nonviolence," but this is misleading and falls far short of the real significance of the word. When all violence has subsided in my heart, my native state is love. I would add that even avoiding a person we dislike can be a subtle form of himsa or violence. Therefore, in everyday terms, ahimsa often means bearing with difficult people.
In Kerala we have a giant, fierce-looking plant called elephant nettle. You have only to walk by for it to stretch out and sting you. By the time you get home, you have a blister that won't let you think about anything else. My grandmother used to say, "A self-willed person is like an elephant nettle."
That is why the moment we see somebody who is given to saying unkind things, we make a detour. We pretend we have suddenly remembered something that takes us in another direction, but the fact is that we just don't want to be stung. Whenever I complained of a classmate I did not like, my granny would say, "Here, you have to learn to grow. Go near him. Let yourself slowly get comfortable around him; then give him your sympathy and help take the sting out of his nettleness."
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to practice being more tolerant of people that irritate you. Try to find common ground with these people. Start with little things like we all need shelter and food. Work from there to cultivate more understanding, more respect, more tolerance and more love.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering Ahimsa.
Ahimsa is the attribute of the soul, and therefore, to be practiced by everybody in all affairs of life. If it cannot be practiced in all departments, it has no practical value.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Ahimsa is usually translated as "nonviolence," but this is misleading and falls far short of the real significance of the word. When all violence has subsided in my heart, my native state is love. I would add that even avoiding a person we dislike can be a subtle form of himsa or violence. Therefore, in everyday terms, ahimsa often means bearing with difficult people.
In Kerala we have a giant, fierce-looking plant called elephant nettle. You have only to walk by for it to stretch out and sting you. By the time you get home, you have a blister that won't let you think about anything else. My grandmother used to say, "A self-willed person is like an elephant nettle."
That is why the moment we see somebody who is given to saying unkind things, we make a detour. We pretend we have suddenly remembered something that takes us in another direction, but the fact is that we just don't want to be stung. Whenever I complained of a classmate I did not like, my granny would say, "Here, you have to learn to grow. Go near him. Let yourself slowly get comfortable around him; then give him your sympathy and help take the sting out of his nettleness."
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to practice being more tolerant of people that irritate you. Try to find common ground with these people. Start with little things like we all need shelter and food. Work from there to cultivate more understanding, more respect, more tolerance and more love.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
